The African Union (AU) has identified opening borders to cross-national mobility as a prime strategic goal, and AU leaders have heralded regional free movement as a vital tool for economic growth and skills development on the continent. Little, however, is known about the level (or determinants) of public support for opening borders in the AU. This article examines public preferences for free movement among 36 African countries. Using data from the sixth round of the Afrobarometer Survey (N = 53,935), the analysis presented here shows a remarkable degree of variation in mobility-related preferences both within and between nations, and explores whether a utilitarian model of attitude formation can explain mass preferences for open borders across African countries. Investigating both macro- and micro-level determinants of public attitudes toward border control, the article shows that the utilitarian model had greater explanatory power at the macro-level than at the micro-level. In addition, some support was found for identity-based predictors (e.g., nationalism versus cosmopolitanism) of support for free movement. These outcomes point toward a new way of understanding public attitudes toward regional integration in Africa. The article concludes by discussing future avenues of public opinion research toward mobility rights on the continent and beyond.

非洲联盟 (AU) 已将向跨国流动开放边界确定为主要战略目标，非盟领导人宣布区域自由流动是非洲大陆经济增长和技能发展的重要工具。然而，公众对开放非盟边界的支持程度（或决定因素）知之甚少。本文考察了 36 个非洲国家公众对自由流动的偏好。使用来自第六轮非洲晴雨表调查（N = 53,935）的数据，此处提出的分析显示国家内部和国家之间与流动相关的偏好存在显着差异，并探讨了态度形成的功利主义模型是否可以解释大众偏好开放非洲国家的边界​​。文章从宏观和微观两个层面调查了公众对边境控制的态度的决定因素，表明功利主义模型在宏观层面比在微观层面具有更大的解释力。此外，还发现了一些支持自由流动的基于身份的预测因素（例如，民族主义与世界主义）。这些结果指向了一种理解公众对非洲区域一体化态度的新方法。文章最后讨论了有关非洲大陆及其他地区流动性权利的舆论研究的未来途径。民族主义与世界主义）支持自由流动。这些结果指向了一种理解公众对非洲区域一体化态度的新方法。文章最后讨论了有关非洲大陆及其他地区流动性权利的舆论研究的未来途径。民族主义与世界主义）支持自由流动。这些结果指向了一种理解公众对非洲区域一体化态度的新方法。文章最后讨论了有关非洲大陆及其他地区流动性权利的舆论研究的未来途径。