The Politics of Regional Integration in Africa

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul-Henri Bischoff
Keyword(s):  
Regional Integration ◽  
African Union ◽  
African Continent ◽  
African Unity ◽  
Economic Interests ◽  
Domestic Security ◽  
Pan African ◽  
The Social ◽  
Multilateral Organization

On the African continent, a commitment to Pan-African unity and multilateral organization exists next to a postcolonial society whose 54 Westphalian states interpret the commitment to unity and integration to different degrees. The tension between a long-term Pan-African vision for a unified continent that prospers and is economically self-empowered, and the national concerns of governing state-centered elites with immediate domestic security and political and economic interests, lies at the heart of the politics surrounding African integration and affects both the continent and its regions. The politics of integration demand that a patchwork of regionalisms be consolidated; states give up on multiple memberships; and designated regional economic communities (RECs) take the lead on integration or subordinate themselves to the strategy and complement the institutions of the African Union (AU). In the interest of widening the social base of regional organization, politics needs to recognize and give status to informal regional actors engaged in bottom-up regionalism. Of issue in the politics of integration and regionalism are themes of norm adaptation, norm implementation, intergovernmentalism and supra-nationality, democracy, and authoritarianism.

The African Union: Successes and Failures

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Kwasi Tieku
Keyword(s):  
Regional Integration ◽  
Good Governance ◽  
Political Elite ◽  
African Union ◽  
African Continent ◽  
Political Class ◽  
Western Sahara ◽  
Goods And Services ◽  
Pan African ◽  
Significant Difference

The African Union (AU), an international organization comprising all 54 independent states in Africa and Western Sahara, was established in May 2001 to, among other things, promote regional integration, interstate solidarity, peace, good governance and to enhance the African voice in the global system. Pan-African organization is like the proverbial forest that has bad trees dotted around its many good trees. The AU has been very successful in addressing the needs of the African political class but it is yet to make a significant difference in the lives of many ordinary Africans. The importance of the pan-African organization to African political elite is such that they would have created it today if it did not already exist. The AU has socialized African leaders to accept liberal values as the foundation of international cooperation in Africa; enhanced the agency of African political class on the world stage; and established progressive and innovative rules and norms for the African continent. It has also created many useful decision-making structures that have contributed to the prevention, management, and resolution of conflicts in Africa. The AU has, however, been less successful in connecting its activities and programs to many ordinary Africans; providing common public goods and services valued by commoners in Africa; giving voice to the majority of young people in Africa; promoting intra-Africa trade, good governance, and financial independence of the African continent as well as struggled to address the expressed material needs and quotidian concerns of ordinary Africans.

Beyond the African Unification Debate: Why is Pan-African Unity Still a Distant Dream?

2019 ◽  
pp. 15-21
Author(s):  
Sengulo Albert Msellemu ◽  
Hamisi Mathias Machangu
Keyword(s):  
African Diaspora ◽  
African Union ◽  
African Unity ◽  
Kwame Nkrumah ◽  
Pan African ◽  
The Future ◽  
Organization Of African Unity

The idea of the Unification of Africa is not one that should be easily discarded. It is an idea, however, that has experienced major difficulties for those seeking to implement it. Originating in the African Diaspora, it was taken up by figures such as Kwame Nkrumah and Julius Nyerere. In its first decades, the project of African unity was institutionalised in the Organization of African Unity. The OAU passed through many vicissitudes and was always a conceptual and political battleground divided between those who wanted swift and speedy unification of African states, and those who favoured more cautious approaches. In a period where the OAU has given way to the African Union, the authors make an impassioned plea for the continuation of the unification projection into the future, even if in a more sober manner more attuned to the complexities of a diverse continent.

The African Union Agenda 2063 and the Imperative of Democratic Governance

2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 259-276 ◽  
Author(s):  
Osy Ezechukwunyere Nwebo
Keyword(s):  
Fundamental Problem ◽  
Final Analysis ◽  
Democratic Governance ◽  
African Union ◽  
African Continent ◽  
African Unity ◽  
The Past ◽  
Organization Of African Unity ◽  
The Concept Of Law ◽  
Agenda 2063

Abstract After more than five decades of the establishment of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) now the African Union (AU), Africa remains at a cross road in her struggle to grapple with the daunting challenges of achieving its core objectives of promoting sustainable development (SD) and economic integration, despite various earlier development initiatives and treaties in that regard. In analyzing the problem, this paper adopts the concept of law as instrument of social change and argues that at the heart of Africa’s missed development opportunities in the past lies the fundamental problem of democratic governance deficit. Indeed, weak governance and its associated political instability, insecurity and lack of peace hinder development and socio-cultural harmony. The paper further argues that there is an ineluctable linkage between democratic governance and sustainability of development and therefore presents the adoption of democratic governance method as the only sustainable way of successfully addressing Africa’s development challenges. In the final analysis, the paper concludes that the achievement SD and integration of the African continent within the framework of agenda 2063 must be predicated on the prioritization and promotion of democratic governance as its necessary adjunct.

scholarly journals Pan-Africanism in the 21st century: African union and the challenges of cooperation and integration in Africa

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 283-311
Author(s):  
Sharkdam Wapmuk
Keyword(s):  
21St Century ◽  
Free Trade Area ◽  
African Union ◽  
African Unity ◽  
Economic Community ◽  
Secondary Sources ◽  
Trade Area ◽  
Pan African ◽  
Pan Africanism ◽  
Agenda 2063

The paper examines the extent to which Pan-Africanism and Pan-African vision of promoting African unity, cooperation and integration has been achieved under the African Union (AU) in the 21st century. It also assesses the challenges of cooperation and integration under the AU. The paper adopted a qualitative approach, while data was gathered from secondary sources and analysed thematically. It notes that the quest for African cooperation and integration is not new, but dates back to philosophy and vision of Pan-Africanism and Pan-African movement from the 1950s and 1960s. This movement later took roots in the continent and championed the struggle of Africans and peoples of African descent for emancipation and the restoration of their dignity, against slavery, colonialism and all forms of racism and racial exploitation, and to overcome developmental challenges. After independence, the Pan-African movement found concrete expression in the establishment of the Organization of Africa Unity (OAU) in 1963, and later transformed to the African Union (AU) in 2002. These continental organisations have served at platforms for the pursuit of Africa cooperation and integration and addressing post-independence challenges with varying successes. The paper revealed that AU’s Pan-African agenda in the 21st century including the African Economic Community (AEC), AU Agenda 2063, and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), are not without challenges. Addressing these challenges holds the key to achieving the continental goal of unity and achieving the vision and goals pan-Africanism in the 21st century in Africa.

The African Union—A New Dawn for Africa?

2002 ◽  
Vol 51 (2) ◽  
pp. 415-425 ◽  
Author(s):  
Konstantinos D. Magliveras ◽  
Gino J Naldi
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Cold War ◽  
Economic Integration ◽  
African Union ◽  
The European Union ◽  
African Unity ◽  
Post Cold War ◽  
Pan African ◽  
Political Cooperation ◽  
Heads Of State

In March 2001 the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), meeting in extraordinary session in Sirte, Libya declared the establishment of a new pan-African body, the African Union (Union).1 The Constitutive Act (Act) of the Union entered into force on 26 May 20012 and in due course this new institution will replace the OAU.3 The Union, the brainchild of Libyan President Qaddafi, and modeled on the European Union, is the culmination of the OAU's piecemeal process of political cooperation and economic integration. It is designed to provide Africa with the legal and institutional framework to confront the twin challenges of the post-Cold War age and globalisation.

scholarly journals International dispute settlement in Africa: Dispute Settlement and Conflict Resolution under the Organization of African Unity, the African Union, and African Traditional Practices: A Critical Assessment

2017 ◽  
pp. 57-92
Author(s):  
Aranzazu Pagoaga Ruiz de la Illa
Keyword(s):  
Conflict Management ◽  
Dispute Settlement ◽  
Critical Assessment ◽  
Traditional Practices ◽  
African Union ◽  
African Continent ◽  
African Unity ◽  
International Dispute ◽  
Organization Of African Unity ◽  
The Common

The proliferation of conflicts of different scope and nature in the African continent has been identified as one of the factors hindering the development of the continent, leading to efforts to create due mechanisms to tackle them. This essay examines both the OAU and AU mechanisms, compares them and assesses their adequacy for the settlement of African disputes. Once these shortcomings are identified, this dissertation looks into the common characteristics of traditional dispute settlement and conflict management to discuss whether they can somehow contribute to the improvement of modern institutional mechanisms.Published online: 11 December 2017

African Union Rising to the Need for Continental IP Protection? The Establishment of the Pan-African Intellectual Property Organization

2015 ◽  
Vol 59 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-24 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y Mupangavanhu
Keyword(s):  
Intellectual Property ◽  
Regional Integration ◽  
African Union ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Rights Protection ◽  
Intellectual Property Rights Protection ◽  
Pan African ◽  
Property Rights Protection ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Improve Access

AbstractIntellectual property rights protection is at the forefront of some of the major controversies regarding the impact of globalization. African countries have in recent years participated to an unprecedented degree in both international and bilateral initiatives dealing with intellectual property. The negotiating positions have been varied and, from a regional perspective, have not been coherent at some levels, with different countries advancing different positions. African countries have adopted regional integration as a strategy to deal with the challenges of globalization. Regional integration is believed to increase negotiating capacities and competitiveness in global trade. It is also believed to improve access to foreign technology. The African Union is facilitating the establishment of a continental intellectual property body. Accordingly, the main aim of this article is to discuss the establishment of the Pan-African Intellectual Property Organization in line with the African Union's vision for regional integration.

Economic Development in 2006 and the Future of the Russian Economy: The Non-Resource-Based Sector Potential (The Economic Report of All-Russia Business Union “Delovaya Rossiya”)

2007 ◽  
pp. 27-45
Author(s):  
B. Titov ◽  
I. Pilipenko ◽  
A. Danilov-Danilyan
Keyword(s):  
Economic Development ◽  
Free Market ◽  
Economic Report ◽  
Russian Economy ◽  
The Social ◽  
National Economic ◽  
Investment Capital ◽  
Export Industries ◽  
Sustainable Economic Growth

The report considers how the state economic policy contributes to the national economic development in the midterm perspective. It analyzes main current economic problems of the Russian economy, i.e. low effectiveness of the social system, high dependence on export industries and natural resources, high monopolization and underdeveloped free market, as well as barriers that hinder non-recourse-based business development including high tax burden, skilled labor deficit and lack of investment capital. We propose a social-oriented market economy as the Russian economic model to achieve a sustainable economic growth in the long-term perspective. This model is based on people’s prosperity and therefore expanding domestic demand that stimulates the growth of domestic non-resource-based sector which in turn can accelerate annual GDP growth rates to 10-12%. To realize this model "Delovaya Rossiya" proposes a program that consists of a number of directions and key groups of measures covering priority national projects, tax, fiscal, monetary, innovative-industrial, trade and social policies.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document