ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews the best-known studies of regional integration that have integrated these concepts into their respective approaches. It presents four hypotheses about the regime types' and neopatrimonialism's effects on regional integration. The analysis indicates that autocratic states as well as neopatrimonial regimes are less committed than democracies and non-neopatrimonial regimes. Regional integration is believed to be crucial for the socio-economic transformation of Africa. The largest West African regional organization, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), is often named as the most complex, active, intricate and advanced sub-region on the African continent. The ECOWAS revised treaty of 1993 led to significant changes both concerning the structure and the character of the regional organization. The statistical analysis provides revealing findings about the influence of regime type and neopatrimonialism on the comittment toward regional integration.
