ABSTRACT

This introduction presents an overview of the content available in other chapters of the book. The book describes the development of viable political, diplomatic and legal mechanisms and institutions in which African scholars, jurists, technocrats, leaders and elders of repute participate as the main engines of decision making in resolving African boundary disputes. By focusing on the law and practices of the Regional Economic Communities (RECs) and the African Union (AU), the book unearths evidence of many progressive practices indigenous to Africa and worthy of further study, development and fine-tuning. It focuses on evaluation of aspects of the legal and political competences as well as practices of the major RECs and regional groupings in Africa, especially in relation to border conflict management. Apart from principles of public international law and aspects of international relations theory, the book is informed by current debates and influences in socio-legal studies, politics, critical legal studies and general social theory.