ABSTRACT
There is a strong tendency in the research field that regionalism on the African continent is seen as primitive, weak or simply a failure (Asante, 1997; Mattli, 1999; Mistry, 2003). A closely related misunderstanding is the notion that regionalism in Africa is of little or no relevance for comparative regionalism (as illustrated by the fact that Africa is seldom mentioned in this literature). These weaknesses reflect the general marginalization of Africa in both research and policy as well as the overwhelming dominance of mainstream and Eurocentric perspectives in the research field. The problem is that the dominant mainstream (and largely rationalist) theories of regionalism – such as realism, liberal institutionalism, (neo) functionalism and regional economic integration theory – are based on specific modes of knowledge production and privilege certain research questions at the expense of others. In particular, they have a rather narrow focus on formal and state-centric regional projects and/or official trade and investment flows, often with Europe and the European Union (EU) as a model, marker or comparator. This chapter will show that such assumptions are less helpful for understanding the logic of regionalism in Africa. As pointed out by one authority on African politics, Christopher Clapham:
The model of inter-state integration through formal institutional frameworks, which has hitherto dominated the analysis of integration in Africa and elsewhere, has increasingly been challenged by the declining control of states over their own territories, the proliferation of informal networks, and the incorporation of Africa (on a highly subordinate basis) into the emerging global order. (Clapham, 1999: 53)
Despite the recent fanfare surrounding the transformation of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) to the African Union (AU), at least the more cautious commentators are pessimistic that the new entity will be able to attain its vaunted goals of a highly developed institutional framework – modelled on the EU – with attendant economic and political integration. The largely dismal track-record of OAU and most other regional African ventures, such as the Arab Mahreb Union (AMU), the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC), only contributes to the general lack of confidence in formal state-led regionalism in Africa. In contrast, witness the wide range of non-state actors and activities, such as transnational corporations, businesses, socio-ethnic and religious networks, civil societies, think-tanks, private armies, and the informal border politics of small-scale trade, bartering, smuggling and crime.