Review: Africa: The Political Economy of Regionalism in Africa
| Date | 01 December 1986 |
| Published date | 01 December 1986 |
| Author | Douglas G. Anglin |
| DOI | 10.1177/002070208604100410 |
| Subject Matter | Review |
884
INTERNATIONAL
JOURNAL
alytic
debate about
the
causes
and
remedies
of
Africa's
politico-eco-
nomic
deterioration.
Michael
F.
Lofchie/University
of
California
THE
POLITICAL
ECONOMY
OF
REGIONALISM
IN
AFRICA
A
decade
of
the
Economic
Community
of
West
African
States
S.K.B.
Asante
New
York:
Praeger
[Toronto:
Holt,
Rinehart
and
Winston],
1986,
xviii,
267pp
On
no
continent
has
interest
in
closer
union
been
more persistent
and
pervasive
than
throughout
Africa.
Although
the
political
commitment
needed
to
sustain
viable
regional
institutions
has
not
always
matched
the
rhetoric,
the
continent
today
is
laced
with
a
myriad
of
organiza-
tions
with
varying
aims,
memberships,
and
achievements.
Despite
pe-
riodic
shocks
and
setbacks,
the
ideology
of
African
unity
continues
to
command an
impressive
measure
of
support.
Thus,
the
demise
of
the
most
ambitious
and promising
early
experiment
-
the
East
African
Community
-
in
the
mid-1
97os
coincided
with
a
fresh
wave
of
en-
thusiasm
for
regional
co-operation,
in
part
in
response
to
the
pres-
sures
of
growing
economic
adversity.
Among
the
organizations
to
emerge at
this time
was
the
Economic
Community
of
West
African
States.
Conceived
and
sponsored
by
tiny
Togo
and
mighty
Nigeria
(with
6o
per
cent
of
the
population
and
75
per
cent
of
the
GNP
of
the
region),
ECOWAS
was
the
first
major institution
to
cut
across
the
lan-
guage
barrier
and
embrace
all
sixteen
West
African
states.
In
terms
of
population
and
membership,
it
remains the
largest regional
group-
ing
on
the
continent,
as
well
as
the
most
diverse,
economically
under-
developed,
and
externally
dependent.
Dr
Asante's
comprehensive
and
informative
study
seeks
to
chron-
icle
and
assess
ECOWAS'
first
decade.
Based
on
extensive
interviews
and
a
partially
structured
questionnaire
in
addition
to
documentary
sources,
his
verdict
on
the
prospects
of
the
organization
is
broadly
optimistic
-
more
so
than
some
commentators
would
be
prepared
to
concede.
A
convinced
and
persuasive
advocate
of
regional
integration
To continue reading
Request your trial