Economic Community of West African States: From an Economic Union to a Peacekeeping Mission?
Year: 1999
Type: article
Abstract: African countries were not part of that great industrial revolution of the eighteenth century that spawned the process of modernization and industrialization in western Europe and North America.[1] Indeed, they were colonies of some of the European powers.As a result, they were sometimes referred to as regimes of delayed industrialization [2] because they only started industrializing following independence.Hitherto, they served fundamentally as the sources for raw materials.Even after they gained their sovereignty on paper, it was discovered that they still relied heavily on the colonial powers for trade and economic survival.If African countries were to exculpate themselves from what was later termed neocolonialism, by some scholars, it was incumbent upon them to do business with each other.This philosophy was generally attractive and welcomed by some of the political actors who believe that economic sovereignty was a sine qua non for political sovereignty.How might these newly independent nations pursue their objective of continental economic autarky?The initial strategy was the creation of regional economic unions.So, in East Africa, there was the East African Economic Community.In French-speaking African states, there were a host of economic unions of which L' Organization Commune Africaine et Malagache (OCAM), L'Union Douaniere et Economic de L'Afrique Centrale (UDEAC), and L'Union des Etats d'Afrique Centrale (LTEAC) were some examples.And, in West Africa was created the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).This essay examines the raison d'etre of the ECOWAS, and its contemporary peacekeeping role, against the backdrop of economic crisis in the area.Additionally, it seeks to briefly examine the role of Nigeria, the area's hegemonic power in the peace building enterprise within the context of the republic's foreign policy and national interest. THE BIRTH OF ECOWASThe treaty establishing the EGOWAS was signed on May 28, 1975, by fifteen countries.These countries were Dahomey (now the Republic of Benin), the Republic of Gambia, the Republic of Ghana, the Democratic Republic of Guinea, Guinea Bissau, the Republic of Ivory Coast, the Republic of Liberia, the Republic of Mali, the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, the Republic of Niger, the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the Republic of Senegal, the Republic of Sierra Leone, the Republic of Togo, and the Republic of Upper Volta (now Burkina Faso).Cape Verde joined later, and that brought the total membership to sixteen.
Author: E. Ike Udogu
Language: English
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2097547792