What future for african integration?
CALL FOR BOOK CHAPTERS:
QUEL AVENIR POUR L’INTÉGRATION AFRICAINE ?
(WHAT FUTURE FOR AFRICAN INTEGRATION?)
Edited by Karim Zaouaq
SCOPE
Since the creation in 1963 of the Organization of African Unity (forerunner of today's African Union), bilateral and multilateral intergovernmental cooperation initiatives have continued to multiply across the African continent, to the point where there are now over a hundred initiatives and institutions covering a wide range of fields: political, economic, commercial, customs, educational, cultural (...). The aim has always been to initiate far-reaching integration between African states.
Africa's integration has not been confined to market integration, but has broadened towards institutional integration, manifested in the proliferation of regional and sub-regional institutions (at both community and intra-community levels). The adoption of the Lagos Plan of Action for the Economic Development of Africa 1980-2000 was a decisive factor in the acceleration of trade and economic integration, with the establishment of the eight Regional Economic Communities (RECs) that today comprise the African continent. The creation of the African Union in 2002 and the development of its actions and initiatives since then have contributed to the strengthening of African integration in cultural, scientific, political, normative fields, etc.
Hopes for further integration are high with the establishment of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), whose agreement has been signed by all African countries. The Covid 19 pandemic has also demonstrated the importance of African integration in meeting both economic and health challenges.
But there are many challenges to be met, as Africa is a continent beset by multiple political and security crises and turbulence (terrorism and insecurity, political instability...). It is also the continent where inequalities are greatest, both between citizens of the same country and between the States themselves, whose levels of development vary from one country to another. In this regard, the African continent includes emerging countries (such as South Africa), developing countries (such as Morocco) and less developed countries (such as Niger and Chad). The countries that make up the African continent do not all have the same trade capacities, as there are states with high trade potential (such as Egypt, South Africa and Nigeria) that could dominate Africa with the AfCFTA, and other states that could not compete due to their weak economical potential (such as the LDCs).
All these factors pose major challenges for regional institutions, led by the African Union, which are supposed to accelerate the continent's integration at every level.
But while African integration is beset by challenges and obstacles, the future of this kind of integration dynamic is, more or less, bright. We need to encourage cooperation rather than competition between states, while strengthening the capacities of LDCs to extrude them out of the shadows of underdevelopment and improve the performance of developing and emerging countries.
These different aspects need to be studied. It is in this context that this call for papers invites professors, doctors, PhD students and researchers in various fields (law, political science, international relations, international law, economics, international trade, etc.) to propose book chapters that can take stock of the situation, shed light on the challenges facing African integration, and reflect on the future prospects of such an integration dynamic.
The chapters expected for this book will focus on the following areas (non-exhaustive list):
TOPICS OF INTEREST:
1- The state of African integration, its fields and instruments;
2- Assessment of African regional integration experiences (ECOWAS, ECCAS, COMESA, SADC, UMA, the AU);
3- Challenges of regional integration in Africa;
-State resistance to the loss of sovereignty;
-States' membership of several regional groupings;
-Terrorist threat;
-The low level of trade between countries;
-Low level of infrastructure development;
-Border management difficulties or porous borders;
-Political crises (coups d'état, electoral fraud, lack of democracy, etc.);
-Multiplicity, competition and coordination problems between African regional and sub-regional institutions;
-Rivalries, competition and wars of influence between African states;
4- The impacts of regional integration in Africa;
5- Prospects of regional integration in Africa;
SUBMISSION OF PROPOSALS
Proposals should be sent in Word format, in the form of an article of no more than 60,000 characters (including spaces and footnotes), i.e. a maximum of 20 pages, accompanied by an abstract, and a brief biography of the author(s).
The deadline for submissions is September 30, 2024. They should be sent to the following address:
k.zaouaq@gmail.com
IMPORTANT DATES
· September 30, 2024: Full Chapter Submission.
· November 30, 2024: Review notification.
· December 31, 2024: Final version chapter submission.
· April 2025: Publication of the book by the French publishing house “L’Harmattan”.
REFERENCES
- Ayuk, Elias T., Kaboré, Samuel T. (éd.). S’intégrer pour s’enrichir. L’intégration régionale et les stratégies de réduction de la pauvreté en Afrique de l’ouest, Springer Éditions, 14 Mai 2012, 307 p. ISBN : 978-1-4614-1233-5
- Baricako, Joseph, and Gaston Xavier Dagba Ndongo. « Intégration régionale et croissance: Le cas de l'Afrique Centrale », African development review 26.S1 (2014), pp. 33-51.
- Ben Achour, Rafâa et Gueldich, Hajer (dir.). Intégration et régionalisme africain où en est l'Union africaine aujourd'hui?, Actes du colloque international organisé le 1er novembre 2018 à la Faculté des sciences juridiques, politiques et sociales de Tunis, Éditeur Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, 2019, 219 p. ISBN : 9789973797599
- Diangitukwa, Fweley. L’Afrique dans la dynamique de l’intégration régionale, Éditions L’Harmattan, 24 mars 2021, 256 pages. ISBN : 978-2-343-22145-8.
- Fau-nougaret, Matthieu (dir.). La concurrence des organisations régionales en Afrique, Éditions L’Harmattan, septembre 2012, 456 p. ISBN : 978-2-296-99476-8
- Feukeu Tchoumba, Marie Agnès. Le pouvoir de sanction de l'Union africaine: Analyse des mécanismes de coercition du système d'intégration régionale africain, Éditions L’Harmattan, 15 mars 2021, 512 p. ISBN : 9782140173967
- Gbaguidi, Ochozias A. « Cinquante ans d’intégration régionale en Afrique: un bilan global », Techniques financières & développement 2 (2013), pp. 47-62.
- Gueldich, Hajer. Droit, pratique et réforme institutionnelle de l'union africaine, Editions SIMPACT, 2019, 438 p. ISBN : 9789973797612
- Hartzenberg, Trudi, Regional integration in Africa, WTO Staff Working Paper, No. ERSD-2011-14, World Trade Organization (WTO), Geneva, 2011.
- Kairouani, Ali, « Les procédures de règlement des différends dans la zone de libre-échange continentale africaine : enjeux et perspectives », International Business Law Journal, n°3-4, 2022, pp. 375-386.
- Kairouani, Ali, « La mise en œuvre du droit au développement dans le Protocole d’investissement de la Zone de libre-échange continentale africaine», Annuaire africain des droits de l’homme 7, 2023, pp. 63-81.
- Kayizzi?Mugerwa, Steve, John C. Anyanwu, and Pedro Conceição. "Regional integration in Africa: an introduction." African Development Review 26.S1 (2014): 1-6.
- Labaronne, Daniel. « Les difficultés de l’intégration économique régionale des pays maghrébins », Monde en développement 3 (2013), pp. 99-113.
- Matala-Tala, Léonard. « Le rôle et la place des communautés économiques régionales dans le développement de l’Afrique », Revue Interventions économiques. Papers in Political Economy Hors-série. Transformations (2017).
- Priso Essawe, Samuel-Jacques. Intégration régionale "appropriée" en Afrique. Éléments juridiques d'effectivité, Éditions Peter Lang, 2021, 156 p. ISBN :9782807619630.
EDITOR
Karim ZAOUAQ (Professor of public international law, Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University, Fez).
SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE
Rachid EL MARZGUIOUI (Professor of international law and international relations, Université Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah, Fez);
Said SADDIKI (Professor of international law and international relations, Université Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah, Fez);
Abdelhalim LARBI (Professor of public international law, Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University, Fez);
Naima GUENNOUNI (Professor of public international law, Hassan II University, Casablanca);
Mohammed Zakaria ABOUDAHAB (Professor of international law and international relations, Mohamed V University, Rabat);
Ali KAIROUANI (Professor of public international law, Mohamed V University, Rabat);
Ben Ahmed HOUGUA (Professor of political science, Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University, Fez);
Fouad AALOUANE (Professor of international law and international relations, Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University, Fez);
PUBLISHER
The book is planned to be published in the French publishing house “L’Harmattan”.
EDITORIAL GUIDELINES FOR FINAL CHAPTERS
1- Chapters should be between 25,000 and 60,000 characters long (including spaces and footnotes), or between 8 and 20 pages.
2- Chapters should be written in Times 12 for body text and 10 for footnotes, 1.5 line spacing.
3- The first page of the final chapter must include the following information:
-Article title in lower case, bold, font 14 ;
-Author's name and address;
-Abstract in French and English (70 to 100 words for each version);
-Keywords in French and English (maximum 5).
4- The work must be original, unpublished and comply with academic standards.
Karim Zaouaq