ABSTRACT
This chapter examines and deconstructs the theoretical narratives of neo-liberal institutionalism. It problematises the neo-functional approaches to African integration in the search for a paradigm shift for African integration. The chapter interrogates the explanatory value and analytical utility of neo-functionalism. It provides the neo-functional rhetoric of the mainstream Western neo-liberal theories of regional integration. The chapter identifies and describes the mainstream neo-liberal institutionalist theoretical approaches to regionalism. Neo-liberal institutionalism is a theory of international integration which encompasses theories of globalism and regionalism otherwise known as theories of global integration and regional integration. Orthodox functionalists like David Mitrany wished that highly specific functional agencies would enter into direct contact with the people they serve in each country. The utopianism and dysfunctionality of orthodox functionalism eventually led to its revision in the form of neo-functionalism. The poorly and ambivalently implemented prevailing neo-liberal framework and neo-functional approach to African integration constitute the main critique of neo-liberal institutionalism.
