Nation States And The Challenges Of Regional Integration In West Africa The Case Of Gambia

Since the Treaty establishing the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) was signed in 1975, several protocole have been adopted providing the legal and institutional framework for implementing the integration of the West African sub-region. Ail social and political stakeholders agree that regional integration is a major challenge for development in West Africa. Yet the regional integration process has been affected by many delays, even failures. Member states have pursued a seemingly contradictory dual objective: build a Nation-state within colonial Borders and achieve regional integration to fight against under-development. Can national planning priorities be reconciled with the demands and objectives of regional integration processes in West Africa ? Since 2005, under the auspices of the Management of Social Transformations (MOST) Programme initiative, the Social and Human Sciences Sector of UNESCO has organized a series of national seminars on West African regional integration in the ECOWAS region. Four seminars have so far been organized in Senegal, Mali, Benin and Ghana. This anthology publishes papers presented at Ghana's national seminar on "Nation-states and the Challenge of Regional Integration in West Africa: the Case of Ghana", held in Accra from 8 to 9 November 2005. The contributors suggest that Ghana's reluctance to relinquish its sovereignty stemmed from a lack of commitment in the first 20 years of ECOWAS' existence and preoccupation with its own security and survival against internai and externat threats. The state has currently demonstrated renewed commit-ment by establishing a Ministry of Regional Cooperation and the New Agenda for Africa's Development (NEPAD) to coordinate and manage the sub-regional integration programme. In spite of positive developments, results have been disappointing. The new ministry remains isolated and is constrained by limited resources in finance and manpower. Its approach to integration issues has been elitist and technocratic, concentrating on format trade and ignoring the importance of the informai trade that has been the traditional means of popular participation in the integration of West African economies. Borderland communities with economic and social ties continue to engage in exchanges across political boundaries in defiance of national and state security concerns. Empowerment of Ghanaians involved in small-scale, informa] cross-border trade (in majority, women) "would not only increase the levels of social and economic integration, but would make the benefits of integration available to large sections of the population".

The positive role of ECOWAS and its military-security arm ECOMOG in bringing to an end the decade-long bloody civil war in Sierra Leone, restoring democratic governance and the rule of law, has brought to the fore the value, legitimacy and impact of regional integration and co-operation in West Africa. Insimple terms, ECOWAS and ECOMOG are widely (though not universally) acclaimed as "saviours" and "heroes" in Sierra Leone. But despite this popular acclaim, no serious effort has been made by researchers, political actors, policy practitioners or regional leaders to engage, on a long-term basis, with how regional integration could be used as an engine of national and regional development, faced with the opportunities and challenges of contemporary globalisation ; how to identify the critical everyday issues that affect the human and societal security of the local populace ; or how to use the regional integration processes to find solutions to the myriad problems faced on a daily basis by people of the sub-region. Infact, as Sierra Leone celebrates the 50th anniversary of political independence from British colonial rule, there is a noticeable absence of any focus on ECOWAS and West African integration and co-operation by the political leaders and academic community. The general lack of policy dialogue and critical engagement among researchers, political actors, policy practitioners and regional leaders has made it difficult, if not impossible, for rigorous evidence-based research to influence policy on the West African integration processes. Under the auspices of UNESCO's Management of Social Transformations (MOSn Programme, a series of multidisciplinary seminars took place in each of the fifteen ECOWAS states to foster dialogue between resear chers and political, economic, and social decision-makers for a better understanding of the issues at stake. This book is the result of one such seminar, and of a series of separately commissioned papers by Sierra Leonean researchers from diverse disciplinary backgrounds. Edited by Professor David Francis, Professor of Peace Studies at the University of Bradford, it is based on extensive field research over a number of years, the assessment of primary source and secondary materials relating to ECOWAS integration, as well as to Sierra Leone's foreign, security and development policy approach to regional integration and cooperation.

Since their independance, Africa states West in particular have felt a need for regional integration in order to solve their development problems. Various aspects of Nigeria's experience in regional integration are there examined. These include the advocacy of chambers of commerce for common currencies among members of the West African Monetary Zone, security implications of defense pacts between some francophone member countries and France, and grassroots participation to solve problems concerning borders and borderlands. Finally, facilitators and obstacles of regional integration are examined.

This volume examines the failure of regional integration and cooperation to date in West Africa and explores some of the more holistic and economically liberal options for revitalization. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

This edited volume discusses the role of innovation and regional integration in economic development in Africa. Over the past five decades, post-colonial African countries have struggled to break loose from the trap of poverty and underdevelopment through the adoption of various development strategies at regional, national, and continental levels. However, the results of both national and regional efforts at advancing development on the continent have been mixed. Although the importance of agglomeration and fusion of institutions have long been recognized as possible path to achieving economic development in Africa, the approach to regionalism has been unduly focused on market integration, while neglecting other dimensions such as social policy, mobility of labor, educational policy, biotechnology, regional legislation, manufacturing, innovation, and science and technology. This volume investigates the link between innovation, regional integration, and development in Africa, arguing that the immediate and long term development of Africa lies not just in the structural transformation of its economies but in the advancement of scientific and innovation capacities. The book is divided into four parts. Part I addresses the theoretical and conceptual underpinnings of innovation and regional integration in Africa. Part II presents case studies which examine how regional economic institutions are fostering innovation in Africa. Part III of the book deals with sectoral issues on innovation and integrated development in Africa. Part IV sets the future research on innovation, regional integration, and development in Africa. Combining theoretical analysis and a comparative, interdisciplinary approach, this volume is appropriate for researchers and students interested in economic development, political economy, African studies, international relations, agricultural science, and geography, as well as policymakers in regional economic communities and the African Union.

This festschrift is composed in honor of a distinguished scholar and Pan-Africanist, Professor Sulayman S. Nyang, whose career and intellectual pursuits spans more than 45 years—much of it at Howard University. Nyang’s contributions to African affairs transcend the scope of the academic world as he served as First Secretary and Head of Chancery of the Gambian Embassy in Saudi Arabia from 1975 to 1977, and consultant to the World Bank and United Nations agencies. In addition, Professor Nyang served as the President of the Interfaith Conference of Metropolitan Washington, DC, and a member of the boards of many academic journals, and organizations of Islamic Studies in the USA. He has published copiously on a variety of issues affecting continental Africans, Africans in the Diaspora, and beyond. He has published and collaborated on dozens of books and book chapters and more than 100 articles in referred journals.