Introduction

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has long posed a puzzle of the study of regionalism and international relations. Created on May 28, 1975 through the Treaty of Lagos, ECOWAS consists of member states diverse in political and economic capacity, having differing experiences with colonialism, and having competing interests from actors external to the region. Region-building in West Africa is concerned with examining how ECOWAS mediates the institution’s interests while simultaneously using the organization to bring disparate regional actors together to manage regional governance. ECOWAS practitioners can be considered a community of practice. In ECOWAS, practitioners share common and institutionalized means of cooperation, bounded not only by the physical space of the ECOWAS Commission but also by the institutional rules of ECOWAS. The chapter also presents an overview on the key concepts discussed in this book.