The Political Economy of Regional Integration in Africa: Prospects for The Future

Abstract

This chapter focuses on the current setup of regional integration efforts within the African continent focusing on their origins, political economic challenges that have characterized African integration, and the prospects that integration has for the continent. Africa’s regional integration is assessed from the perspective of the complexities associated with globalization and the resultant political-economic structure it has created. It argues that an understanding of Africa’s integration and its prospects for the continent’s future can be understood from an informed analysis of integration efforts since African states attained political independence in the 1950s and 1960s. This has cast Africa’s integration efforts in a complex web of emergent political and economic factors. The chapter asserts critical developments towards deeper integration under the auspices of the African Union’s African Economic Areas (AEAs), the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCTA), and Africa’s Agenda 2063 which are significant milestones the continent seeks to achieve. This is underpinned by a series of political challenges ranging from political instability, political turmoil, political and diplomatic differences among states, lack of political will, and lack of commitment to the implementation of the policy frameworks that are required to actualize Africa’s integration agenda. The continent in the meantime has generated positive economic outlooks that could jumpstart the much-needed economic growth. This presents an opportune moment for African states, business leaders, policymakers, governmental and non-governmental leaders, academics as well as other African and foreign stakeholders to ponder the path that African integration must take to realize the continent’s growth and development prospects. It is this delicate political economic mix that is worth exploring to identify critical aspects that African integration is enveloped in. Philosophically, the chapter is guided by Karl Popper’s philosophy of piecemeal social engineering which advocates for a piecemeal approach to policy issues as opposed to rapid changes. It argues that borrowing from past lessons learnt from Africa’s integration efforts, the continent can build on them and put in place pragmatic frameworks that can ensure that viable options are considered. It presents a number of recommendations on how African states need to reorient the continent’s integration agenda in order to achieve their goals.