African Regionalism - Essay Example

Running Head: African Regionalism African Regionalism of African Regionalism Regionalism is an effort by nations to enhance their economic, political or cultural interaction. Such an effort can take many forms like regional cooperation and market integration. Many leaders of Africa have believed that regionalism could help promote and enhance the economic and political growth of Africa. Regional cooperation is one theory of regionalism. It involves a joint project by two or more nation states with the goal of pursuing common interests. This can take the form of cooperating in many sectors or running common policies. It can include the development of natural resources and with a common production policy. Another theory of regionalism is market integration in which there is a free trade area between the member states. A common market allows the free flow of capital and labor. An economic union consists of common fiscal and economic policies. It is also characterized by economic integration which monetary policies are unified. The gains of market integration are said to be increase in production and output. It also leads to better exploitation of resources for the economic interests of the state. It also promotes efficiency due to competition between member states. Another type of regionalism is developmental regionalism which calls for governments to intervene as a foundation for cooperation. This is speculated to assist member nations in implementing policies that would solve the problems of each member state. Regional integration is a process in which nation states have informal institutions to ensure access to markets and to minimize conflicts. It also does not call for member states to simultaneously participate in all development projects (Baldwin, 14, 1997). Regionalism is not a new phenomenon in Africa. However since the 1990s, numerous factors have led to the promotion of regionalism by African leaders and political parties. Several external and internal factors have led to an attempt to make a common response to these factors. The end of the cold war has led to nation states seeking regionalism to counter the influence of superpowers. With the absence of superpower rivalry in regional conflicts, other regional powers have stepped into the game to promote their interests. There have been needs to find alternative methods for exploiting resources for economic growth. Political conscious has developed with member states attempting to find common links on the basis of language, religion and ethnicity. New powerful forces that have limited the ability of African states to protect their security have led to a powerful incentive to join a regional group (Blackhurst, 34, 1998). Centralized states have been forced on the defensive due to their inability to deliver basic services and goods to their member citizens. The rise of private militias and groups which threaten a failed or fragile state can also spread to other neighboring nations. A regional grouping would provide a security mechanism to protect a member state from such chaotic forces. The economic and political failures of past governments have promoted new African leaders to find ways to enhance the growth of their nations. Regional groups offer a way of collective political and economic security for weak and vulnerable African states (Blackhurst, 42, 1999). The Organization of African Unity was the first regional organization to be created in Africa in 1963. The organization was created as African countries became independent. The successor to this organization is the African Union. During the 1990s, regionalism has become practical as African countries move to develop political and security dimensions. An African parliament and human rights tribunal will also be created in the future. Africa’s longest regional organizations are the Economic Community of West African States and South African Development Community. ECOWAS has taken the role of intervening in failed states with civil war. ECOWAS peacekeepers were deployed in Sierra Leone and Liberia. It has been the most active regional African organization to intervene in civil wars. The SADC was a group of nations that aimed to provide collective security and reduce their dependence on South Africa. It had some limited success such has halting the RENAMO offensive in 1986. South Africa has become the head of SADC following the end of apartheid. Its security and economic functions have become more effective. A peacekeeping force has been established which has limited success in Comoros and Democratic Republic of Congo. However it has been reluctant to intervene as a mediator in Zimbabwe (Lyakurwa, 154, 1998). Central African states are members of a regional organization called The Economic Community of Central African States. It has been active since the late 1990s. Free trade has developed between the member states. A number of institutions for promotion of technology and development have been set up. A small peacekeeping force has been established for intervening in failed states (Ovejide, 52, 1999). Eighteen countries from the Maghreb, Sahel and Sahara are members of an organization known as the Community of Sahelo-Saharan States. Nigeria and Egypt are also members of this organization. However Libya has dominated this regional grouping as the headquarters of the organization is in Tripoli. This organization has been heavily criticized as an instrument for Libya to achieve political and economic domination of weaker states. The East African Community is a legacy of a colonial attempt to rule Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania as a federation. The organization has ambitious goals like political integration, regional court and parliament. However there has been little move towards real political union (Helleiner, 121, 1999). There are other regional groupings which exist for financial and economic cooperation. The West African Economic and Monetary Union, Common Market of Eastern and Southern Africa are organizations that have development banks, insurance institutions and free trade area between member states. African countries are also moving towards the formation of an African Economic Community for the creation of a common currency and free trade market. The African Union has been reorganized in 2000 to cooperate in alleviating poverty and promote economic development. There have been plans for an African parliament and African peacekeeping force. The fact remains that these institutions remain weaker as compared with the European Union. The jurisdiction of the African Union’s human rights tribunal is very limited. Further the African parliament will only have consultative role in the affairs of its member states (Francois, 98, 1998). African regional pacts have limited success in resolving conflicts and peacekeeping. The number of conflicts in Africa is numerous which have remained intractable. Despite greater economic pacts, the standard of living in most countries remains very low. The lack of infrastructure, technical expertise and political stability further undermines greater economic cooperation between African states. African regionalism is new which accounts for its limited success. Regional pacts have existed for many years but the resolution of conflicts, free trade zones and political institutions have been operating for the past five or six years. They also have recently been acquiring the tools vital for the success of regional pacts. The lack of funding is one major problem for greater success of regional pacts. Most African countries have economies which operate at the basic subsistence level which leaves fewer resources for the creation of regional institutions (Oyejide, 427, 1990). Political instability also hinders the success of African regional pacts. Most African countries have elementary forms of democracy which have corrupt political elite that refuses to reduce its authority. The creation of African political institutions has also been delayed because many countries focus on their own internal political problems. Most regional pacts are dominated by a powerful country which seeks to promote its own political and economic interests at the expense of weaker powers. The governments of small states are reluctant to surrender their national interests to regional institutions. Political and economic problems remain the major factor which reduces the ability of regional associations to function successfully (Ohiorhenuan, 147, 1998). The domination of warlords and provincial governors in African countries also presents a problem for regional treaties. For instance a free trade agreement is of little use of the local warlord or power broker collects a tax on goods coming from a neighboring state. Africa’s infrastructure is underdeveloped as major rail and road networks are geared towards connecting capital cities and port cities. The transport infrastructure of Africa’s interior is poor and underdeveloped. Custom barriers pose a major threat for the development of regional infrastructure. Many of the African regional groups have contradictory jurisdiction policies which lead to political conflict. Local nationalisms and ethnic conflicts combine to make regional integration very difficult. Research on Africa’s regional integration schemes provides a very dismal record. They have not succeeded in expanding trade between member states. They have failed to enhance the economic growth of its member nations. Regional integration schemes do not have appropriate mechanisms for achieving their objectives. Many of these regional schemes have not been properly implemented. There have been design and implementation problems which have failed to take account of the ground realities of Africa. The low levels of trade between African states are due to low income and the huge distance between member states. The domestic policies of individual states have normally at odds with the regional grouping’s goals and objectives. A recent survey of African regional integration schemes showed that many of the policies and decisions actually hinder the trade between member states (Fine, 54, 1997). Despite the apparent failure of regional integration schemes in Africa, the concept remains popular in African policy makers. There is much enthusiasm for some form of regional integration scheme in Africa. This has been a reaction to the poor economic performance of African countries. There have been calls for new approaches towards trade and economic policies in Africa. It has been argued that an appropriate regional integration scheme would contribute to African development. As the world moves towards the creation of huge trading blocs, African nations would need to cooperate in order to participate in the global economy. New regional integration schemes will have to take into account the ground realities of Africa before designing and implementing a realistic integration scheme. One major lesson of regional integration schemes is that domestic reforms for member nations are a vital component in order for the success of such schemes. A member state must have macroeconomic stability and competitive domestic economy. Africa also has a high transaction cost. The huge cost of transportation is because many African countries are landlocked and the regional transport system is underdeveloped. The cost of information is high due to the poor telecommunications systems. Reducing transaction costs would enable Africa to make into a hub for investment because of its low labor rate. Harmonizing the policies would help in greater regional integration between African states. Joint infrastructure projects for developing natural resources, educational and research facilities would also benefit any new kind of regional integration scheme (Hebbel, 41, 1996). The Economic Community of West African States is a regional group of West African countries. It aimed to promote self sufficiency with in its member states but slow progress has led to a revision of its ambitious goals. Its greatest achievement has been the Economic Community of West African States Monitoring Group which is a peacekeeping force aimed at ensuring cooperation of the armies of the member states. ECOMOG forces have successfully intervened in Sierra Leone, Guinea-Bissau and at the Guinea-Liberia border to prevent infiltration. Inside Africa, ECOMOG has been the first successful attempt by regional countries to prevent conflict and establish a regional security arrangement. West African countries have failed to integrate their economies despite the presence of a regional integration scheme. Globalization cannot improve the lives of West African people because it cannot address the poor who constitute the majority in West Africa. Further privatization would lead to the taking of strategic assets of an African state by foreign companies. These states also have fears that their national sovereignty would be undermined. The main reason is also the same as in other parts of Africa, which is the small percentage of intra African trade. Many participating governments also are not satisfied with the goals of ECOWAS. The perceived benefits have not been felt by the member states. Many of the member states have their own strategies and policies for economic and political development. This has limited the ability of regional integration schemes to properly design and implements their structures for economic and political development (Elbadawi, 124, 1997). The failure of regional integration schemes has prompted calls for alternative models which would provide mutual benefits and take into account the ground realities of Africa. One of the critical factors for the success of regional integration schemes would be the development of infrastructure which is closely related to economic growth. Efficient and low cost infrastructural services like transportation and communication could lead to greater integration. Infrastructure allows an increase in productivity due to the effectiveness of delivering goods and services to remote markets. Poor and inadequate infrastructure has been a major hurdle in the economic growth of many African states. The Southern African Power Pool was established in the mid nineties as a regional project in the energy sector. The project was to draw power from hydroelectricity and coal. The power would be distributed to member states. The project is a rare success of African regional integration schemes because it has reduced fuel costs and lead to more efficient use of hydroelectricity. The key factors responsible for the success of the project have been power sources, an active regional cooperation agency and governments with will to support the project (European Commission, 210, 1992). Another successful regional cooperation project has been the Lesotho Highlands Development project which provides electricity and water. Macroeconomic stability has been identified as an important requirement for economic growth. Despite many policy reforms by African states, the macroeconomic stability remains very poor. Fiscal policy remains flawed, inflation is above international levels and premium for foreign exchange has not been implemented (Gunning, 387, 1995). The South African Development Coordination Conference is a major regional integration scheme of nine member states. This group aimed to achieve regional development and reduce their dependence on South Africa. Each of the member nations was given a regional sector in which they would focus on. A major goal of the regional pact was the establishment of a regional transport and communication sector. By the 1990s, the member states had decided to create a free market. The end of apartheid witnessed SADCC finishing its objective of achieving economic independence from South Africa. This led to the creation of the Southern African Development Community in the early 1990s (Collier, 32, 1998). However the goal of market integration remains elusive due to the poor economies and markets of the member states. The infrastructure remains underdeveloped. South Africa remains the main economic power of the region. South Africa has the most to benefit from the creation of a free trade area. Political and economic stability is vital for the success of the regional integration scheme. The member states of SADC will continue to face serious problems unless the realities of their economies are taken into account. Another fatal flaw in the planning of the SADC is the attempt to emulate the example of the European Union. The SADC has experienced success in funding regional projects which can promote growth and development. Both the ECOWAS and SADC have found success in developing or improving existing infrastructure as this enhances the ability of member states to access their markets (CEPR, 125, 1993). African countries are weakly integrated with the global economy. This has been due to the failure to participate in increasing trade share. Further there has been low foreign direct investment in African countries. They are virtually excluded from financial markets. This has led to the marginalization of Africa into the global economy. Deeper integration with the global economy can increase economic growth of Africa. An attempt can be made to link a group of African countries with a Western country like the US or European states. A complete free trade agreement could provide important policy reforms for the African states. It would also lead to foreign direct investment making its way into the African market (Cadot, 74, 1999). However the dependence of Africa on the European Union for trade would result in loss of fiscal revenues. It would be a one way market access for European Union organizations. The gains for the African states would be negligible. It would also discriminate against the other trading partners of Africa. Some researchers insist that a better arrangement for Africa would be to operate under multilateral agreements. This would increase Africa’s integration into the global market. This would in turn increase foreign investment and economic growth in Africa. It could provide favorable and secure access for the region’s exports. This can only be achieved if more African states are allowed to participate in rules and mechanisms which shape the global economy. Increasing the participation of African states in the World Trade Organization would help Africa in increasing its economic growth and development (Sterm, 145, 1997). The start of the twenty first century has called for African countries to change their proposals and policies for regional integration. Market integration which has been based on the European Union has not succeeded. Many governments continue to believe that the market integration process would enhance and promote economic and political growth. The policies of regionalism have failed partly because they do not take into account the ground realities of Africa. A strategy in which regional cooperation and integration is pursued will more likely lead to success as compared with market integration. Regionalism has only been partially successful in preventing conflicts. The huge number of conflicts means that only UN or Western intervention can prevent these conflicts from escalating. There have been many economic pacts between African states yet they have failed to increase the economic growth of the member states. Africa’s infrastructure is still based upon the colonial age where rail and transport routes were built to connect capital or port cities. The interior of Africa does not have an adequate and advanced communications and transportation infrastructure. The lack of technical expertise and research organization further hinders the success of regional economic groups. Many small member states are wary of the regional political institutions because of fears of domination by more powerful African nations. African countries need to reform their own domestic economic and political systems before attempting to promote regional economic and political pacts. This is the best way for African states to survive in the age of globalization and neo liberalism. References: Baldwin, R.E (1997) “Review of Theoretical Developments on Regional Integration” in Oyejide, et al (eds) Regional Integration and Trade Liberalization in Sub – Saharan Africa, Vol I, Macmillian, London. Pages 14-16 Blackhurst, R. 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