Paper Title
Impact of International Criminal Court on Politics in Africa

Abstract
Delivering distanced justice from The Hague with limited expertise on African societies and spending scant time in the field, the ICC has failed to grapple sufficiently with complex political dynamics “on the ground.” Combined with the Court’s heavy reliance on state cooperation, these factors have enabled African governments to use the ICC to target their political and military enemies while protecting themselves from prosecution. This has also emboldened African states in continuing to commit atrocity crimes against civilians, especially during periods of mass conflict and fraught national elections. The establishment of the ICC has created a new phrase in African politics, where by the present African leaders hang on in power and even manipulate their constitutions for fear of being indicted by the ICC. Though the ICC was created to check excessive powers of such despotic leaders it has created a scare in then and they would rather manipulate their populations which are largely illiterate than face the court. Regrettably many African leaders are mere puppets of neo-colonial interest that has helped them to eternalize power in exchange for defending the neo-colonial economic and hegemonic agenda. It is often under these circumstances that crimes falling under the jurisdiction of the ICC are perpetrated. Keywords - International Criminal Court, African Politics, international justice ,Neo-colonial, African Politics