The Economic Community of West African States

2020 ◽  
pp. 187-203
Author(s):  
Frank Schimmelfennig ◽  
Thomas Winzen ◽  
Tobias Lenz ◽  
Jofre Rocabert ◽  
Loriana Crasnic ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Community Building ◽  
West African ◽  
International Organization ◽  
Economic Community ◽  
Regional Organizations ◽  
Pan African ◽  
African Community ◽  
Treaty Reform

This chapter examines the international parliamentarization of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). ECOWAS was founded in 1975 without an international parliamentary institution (IPI). An IPI was only created in 1993 in the context of general treaty reform. In particular, the democratization process in the region, the promotion of pan-African community building and the example of other successful regional organizations motivated the initiative for an ECOWAS Parliament. Moreover, the ECOWAS Parliament represents an attempt by elites to strengthen the links between the international organization and the citizens. However, the ECOWAS Parliament took until 2001 to become operational and did not have legislative functions until 2017.

Gendering Environment and Climate Change in the Economic Community of West African States & the East African Community: Why Representation Matters

2021 ◽  
pp. 003464462110367
Author(s):  
Naaborle Sackeyfio ◽  
Amadu Jacky Kaba
Keyword(s):  
Political Representation ◽  
West African ◽  
Female Leadership ◽  
Economic Community ◽  
Female Representation ◽  
East African ◽  
African Countries ◽  
East African Community ◽  
Representation Of Women ◽  
African Community

The heightened prospect of a “rising Africa” stems from multiple developments across the continent. Technological innovation, economic empowerment, increasing female leadership, and more continue to raise the fortunes of African countries. As regional economic communities engage with Agenda 2063, an ambitious endeavor to support and sustain economic development, a gendering environment is pivotal to any ensuing progress. Using the case studies of two regional organizations, our research examines the pace of political representation of women in relevant environmental committees in the Economic Community of West African States and the East African Community. In an epoch where women constitute half of the continent, the case for female representation to combat ecological challenges propelled by the securitization of environmental issues is paramount.

scholarly journals The Role of African Regional Organizations in the Promotion and Protection of Foreign Investment

2017 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 449-492
Author(s):  
Erik Denters ◽  
Tarcisio Gazzini
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
Foreign Investment ◽  
Corporate Responsibility ◽  
West African ◽  
Policy Space ◽  
Economic Community ◽  
Regional Organizations ◽  
Public Scrutiny ◽  
Bilateral Treaties

A complex, fragmented and heterogeneous network of domestic and international legal instruments promotes and protects foreign investment in Africa. While bilateral treaties seem to be increasingly unpopular, regionalism is clearly on the rise in the continent. The article examines how regional treaties have contributed to upgrade the current regulation of foreign investment. From this perspective, Africa can be seen as a normative laboratory. Regional treaties, most prominently those concluded within the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC), contain several important novelties meant to rebalance the rights and obligations of the various stakeholders as well as to safeguard host State policy space. The content of these treaties has been brought more in line with the evolution of international law, especially with regard to the protection of the environment, social and human rights, transparency, corruption, public scrutiny, economic development, and corporate responsibility.

scholarly journals International public administration on the tip of the tongue: language as a feature of representative bureaucracy in the Economic Community of West African States

2021 ◽  
pp. 002085232098623
Author(s):  
Zuzana Murdoch ◽  
Magali Gravier ◽  
Stefan Gänzle
Keyword(s):  
International Organizations ◽  
West African ◽  
Representative Bureaucracy ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Economic Community ◽  
Regional Organizations ◽  
Member States ◽  
Language Representation ◽  
National Representation ◽  
Bureaucracy Theory

Recent scholarship shows increasing interest in gender, ethnic or national representation within regional and international organizations. In contrast, language as a criterion of representation has rarely been scrutinized. We argue that this constitutes an important oversight for two reasons: (1) language is an important identity marker; and (2) language regimes in international public administrations can uniquely address representativeness relative to both member states and groups of citizens. Our article explores language representation in the Economic Community of West African States, and pursues a twofold objective: first, it extends the applicability of representative bureaucracy theory to the issue of language; and, second, it broadens the scope of representative bureaucracy studies by providing the first study on a prominent West African regional organization. As such, we develop avenues for future research on other regional and international organizations. Points for practitioners The article is of particular relevance for managers in multilingual international and regional organizations. Organizations tend to overlook the role and impact of languages on their functioning, often considering them as a technicality. Taking the example of the Economic Community of West African States, the article argues that linguistic regimes are important for the performance and the legitimacy of the organization in terms of acceptance by both citizens and its member states.

The ECOMOG Initiative in Liberia: A Liberian Perspective

1993 ◽  
Vol 21 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 74-83
Author(s):  
S. Byron Tarr
Keyword(s):  
Civil War ◽  
West African ◽  
Security System ◽  
Economic Community ◽  
Internal Conflicts ◽  
Cooperative Security ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Monitoring Group ◽  
Inter State

This is a Liberian perspective on the unique initiative by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to resolve the Liberian conflict by organizing and deploying a Peace Monitoring Group in Liberia. It considers whether ECOWAS’ initiative can become a self-reliant security system that can end a civil war and institutionalize deterrence to subregional inter-state and internal conflicts. Can this self-generated, West African initiative set the stage for democratization? Is the initiative the start of an inter-African cooperative security system? Is the model of Nigerian leadership a harbinger of a regional hegemony in the making? Is the modest role of the USA constructive in resolving the conflict, in light of the fact that Liberia is a country with which the USA has had an historic relationship?

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