Regional integration and warlord politics : the case of West Africa

This research thesis is a critique of the main explanations of regional integration in West Africa. In critiquing West African regional integration, this research introduces and integrates the growing literature on the concept of warlords with theory of regional integration. The main explanations of West African regional integration are functionalism and federalism respectively. The critique in this study is informed by the practical lack of successful regional integration in West Africa, i.e. the failure to merge West African states and establish regional co-operation through regional integration. With regards to West African regional integration, the conventional, also known as the traditional view, argues and maintains that on practical and theoretical levels, integrationist approaches are inherently inappropriate to such integration because they ignore complex realities faced by states that are integrating or wish to integrate. According to the conventional argument, these realities include forces such as globalisation, the nature of North-South trade relations, the colonial experience, which today is responsible for the chaotic social-political and economic landscape in regions such as West Africa This landscape is characterised by economically, politically and institutionally weak countries.

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

Department of Political Studies

Year dc:date.issued

2002

Author dc:creator

• Nakana, Steven C

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Seegers, Annette

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/11427/7708

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/7708