The United Nations And Regional Challenges In Africa

"This volume contains a selection of the contributions to an international conference held on 13-15 July 2011 at the University of Pretoria, South Africa. The conference was devoted to the legacy of Dag Hammarskjöld and the continued relevance of the principles he advocated. His term as the Secretary-General of the United Nations occurred when "the wind of change" was blowing across the African continent, and his approach to global justice, peace and security is widely viewed as exemplary. The scholars, officials and political office-bearers that have contributed to this volume examine in historical perspective the values and norms Dag Hammarskjöld lived -- and died -- for. They go on to relate them to the current regional, continental and global policy challenges faced by both the United Nations and regional African organisations in terms of conflict mediation, the rule of law and international collective responsibility."--Provided by publisher.

This landmark book is the first of its kind to assess the challenges of African region-building and regional integration across all five African sub-regions and more than five decades of experience, considering both political and economic aspects. Leading scholars and practitioners come together to analyze a range of entwined topics, including: the theoretical underpinnings that have informed Africa's regional integration trajectory; the political economy of integration, including the sources of different 'waves' of integration in pan-Africanism and the reaction to neo-liberal economic pressures; the complexities of integration in a context of weak states and the informal regionalization that often occurs in 'borderlands'; the increasing salience of Africa's relationships with rising extra-regional economic powers, including China and India; and comparative lessons from non-African regional blocs, including the EU, ASEAN, and the Southern Common Market. A core argument of this book, running through all chapters, is that region-building must be recognized as a political project as much as if not more than an economic one; successful region-building in Africa will need to include the complex political tasks of strengthening state capacity (including states' capacity as 'developmental states' that can actively engage in economic planning), resolving long-standing conflicts over resources and political dominance, improving democratic governance, and developing trans-national political structures that are legitimate and inclusive.

Study of the role of African member states in the UN and specialized agencies, and their impact on international relations - examines African membership in the UN and African representation in the UN international civil service; comments on UN Resolutions of the General Assembly and Security Council concerning the independence of Namibia, role of Portugal in her colonys and Zimbabwe, and Apartheid in South Africa R; describes the organization of the OAU and its regional cooperation with UN regional agencys; considers the role of UN.

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 report examines the effectiveness of Africa’s regional economic communities in pushing forward the regional integration agenda towards the objectives of the Abuja Treaty establishing the African Economic Community. A fully functioning African Economic Community will remove all barriers to movement of people, goods and services across the continent, thereby creating a single economic space. The report examines the critical role that institutions in general can play in achieving policy objectives, and the specific role that African institutions perform. The analysis focuses on the regional economic communities, which have been designated by the African Union as the building blocks for achieving the African Economic Community.

Of the multitude of challenges facing Liberia as it emerges from a devastating civil conflict, none is more fundamental than the challenge of reconciliation and capacity-building in the context of the country's reintegration into the West Africa sub-region. Such was the finding of a two-day Liberian National Seminar on Regional Integration held in Monrovia on 21-22 January 2008. This book is a compendium of research by Liberians for the seminar, under a project of UNESCO's Department for Human and Social Sciences, which attempts to discuss these and other challenges facing Liberia as the nation emerges from a decade-long upheaval that destroyed most of its human and materila resources. The seminar papers reproduced in this book tackle a range of themes seeking to explain how the African continent's oldest Republic reached this crucial point, and exploring what remains to be done both by the country and by the region before Liberia can fully reintegrate with its neighbouring States within regional structures that are its best bet for securing a peaceful and prosperous future.

This unique book investigates the implications of the rising importance of supra-national regional organizations for global governance in general, and for the United Nations, in particular. It touches upon issues such as regional representation at the UN, high-level dialogues with regional organisations, as well as the coordination of UN member states’ voting behaviour in the UN General Assembly and the UN Security Council. The book further explores the regional dimension and coordination of UN operations in areas such as peace and security, human rights, and sustainable development. The contributions to the book are both in-depth chapters and shorter viewpoints, written by a combination of academics, policy-makers at regional organizations, and experts from international think tanks. The book is essential reading for anyone interested in the future of global governance.

This book concerns the United Nations’ peacemaking, peacekeeping, peace-building, and post-conflict reconstruction efforts in Africa from 1960 to 2021. Succinctly discussed are historic and contemporary peace, security, and economic engagements within 18 countries spanning eight African regions: the Great Lakes; the Economic Community of Central African States; East Africa; the Horn of Africa; North Africa; the Sahel Region; West Africa; and Southern Africa. The book develops a neo-realist and imperialist critique that discusses how resource-rich, conflict-ridden states have become easy targets for capitalists, terrorists, and transnational crime, aligned to geostrategic parochial interests. Critically argued is that endogenous economic growth factors, if applied effectively, can achieve both peace and security, and meet the Global Sustainable Development Goals. Such efforts require constructive engagement with the five permanent members of the UN Security Council: China, France, Russia, the UK, and the US. However, the book contends that the cornerstone of multilateral engagement involves Africa’s 55 states and the African Union’s three major pillars: the Peace and Security Council, the African Governance Architecture, and the Post-Conflict Reconstruction Development Centre, which have the ability to move resource-rich, conflict-ridden states out of transnational crime and poverty. This book offers wide-ranging analyses of contemporary African diplomacy and a compelling critique of UN peacekeeping efforts in Africa, which resonates to scholars of international relations, peace and conflict studies, and African politics.