ABSTRACT
Regionalism and interregionalism are defining vectors of relations between Africa and the European Union (EU). The study of regional integration has originated around the European integration process, and although the EU remains the most studied case to date, its uniqueness is increasingly being challenged. Applying the insights and concepts gained from studying the EU to other parts of the world has been a standard procedure to investigate regionalism. This chapter highlights the contribution of Latin American thinking to African regionalism. It follows an account of African regionalism in a context of interregionalism with Europe. The chapter uses the case of EU-Africa relations to illustrate and expand conceptual approaches to interregionalism. The EU-ACP Group relationship has shown trends of both dissolution – as it has become fragmented in the EPA process, and shared region-building, as the framework foresees common positions in global institutions – thus contributing to the actorness of interregionalism.
