ABSTRACT
This chapter examines a selection of trends and structural factors in the contemporary political economy of West Africa with a view to assessing their likely effect on the needs and capabilities of the countries of the region in the new millennium. This assessment is carried out, not only in the context of demands within the region for achieving a more rapid system of democratic development, but also in relation to the ways in which West Africa might more fully respond to the demands of globalisation. The chapter presents a selective overview, which is intended to be both retrospective and prospective. It is argued that in this age of intensifying globalisation, West Africa's future centres around a choice between closer regional co-operation, on the one hand, and the continued pursuit of individual national strategies, which are often not co-ordinated on a regional basis, on the other.
