"This book examines the relationship between flexible regional economic integration in the East African Community (EAC), through its application of variable geometry, and the establishment of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) as a continent-wide form of integration. It uses a historical, political, legal and economic analysis of the processes that led to the adoption of flexible regional integration in Africa, with particular regard to the EAC. This takes place in the inescapable context of pan-Africanism, showing how regional integration efforts in Africa are based on pan-Africanist ideals, and how an evolution of these ideals has led to an evolution in the goals of integration. With growing awareness of the weaknesses and impracticality of consensus-based decision-making on a global level, it makes the case for the pursuit of flexibility in multilateral trade, drawing lessons from the experience of the AfCFTA and blocs in other regions. This book is a historical evaluation of regional economic integration efforts in Africa and it follows the path of attempts to integrate the economies on the continent from colonial times to the birth of the AfCFTA. While it is a study in law, it relies heavily on politics, economics and history to weave together a more complete theory of economic integration based on the African experience. Flexible Regional Economic Integration in Africa was awarded the 2020 SIEL-Hart Prize in International Economic Law."--

The debates over what African economic integration and development actually entails continue across international economic organizations, national governments and NGOs. Despite the glare of media attention and the position this issue has on international political agendas, few comprehensive accounts exist that fully examine why this process will be inevitable in the 21st century and how integration of national economies can be attuned to attaining the socio-economic goals and aspirations of member-countries. This book addresses this problem. It combines theory with application, enumerating the imperatives and initiatives governments will be forced to confront; providing insights for educators and students in African development, for policy makers in African governments, and for inter-governmental organizations.

Based on Africa's deep routed structural problems, the key aspect of a transformative regional integration is how to promote structural transformation by adapted strategies and policies for the African regional economic communities, for the Continental Free Trade Area, and for the Tripartite Free Trade Area. Regional integration in Africa is based on a conventional (linear) model, starting with trade preference zones and moving to free trade areas, customs unions, and monetary and economic zones, with the ultimate goal to reach political unity. Specific problems of a more transformative regional integration agenda are discussed, such as: ?food security and agriculture; industry development, enterprise growth and competition; and economic partnership agreements with extra-regional partners. In the final section, the impact of three global value chains of importance for Africa (diamonds, shea butter, and sesame) are considered on regions, on sub-regions, and on regional integration. (Series: African Development Perspectives Yearbook, Vol. 18) [Subject: African Studies, Economics

This book reviews the current trends and challenges of regional integration and trade in Africa. It provides valuable policy recommendations aimed at stimulating the debate among the government, private sector and development community on the ways to promote regional trade for Africa's economic development.

This book examines how the existence of overlapping regional institutions has presented a daunting challenge to the workings of various Regional Economic Communities (RECs) on the African continent. The majority of the African countries are members of overlapping and, sometimes, contradictory RECs. For instance, in East Africa, while Kenya and Uganda are both members of EAC and COMESA, Tanzania, which is also a member of the EAC, left COMESA in 2001 to join SADC. In West Africa, while all former French colonies belong to ECOWAS, they simultaneously keep membership of UEMOA, an organization which is not recognized by the African Union (AU). Such multiple and confusing memberships create unnecessary duplication and dims the light on what ought to be priority. Various chapters in this book have therefore sought to identify and proffer solutions to related challenges confronting the workings of the RECs in different sub-regions of the African continent. The discourses range from security to the stock exchange, identity integration, development framework, labour movement and cross-border relations. The pattern adopted in the book involves devolution of related discussions from the general to the specific; that is, from the continental level to sub-regional case studies.

This report examines the effectiveness of Africa’s regional economic communities in pushing forward the regional integration agenda towards the objectives of the Abuja Treaty establishing the African Economic Community. A fully functioning African Economic Community will remove all barriers to movement of people, goods and services across the continent, thereby creating a single economic space. The report examines the critical role that institutions in general can play in achieving policy objectives, and the specific role that African institutions perform. The analysis focuses on the regional economic communities, which have been designated by the African Union as the building blocks for achieving the African Economic Community.

This publication comes at a time of renewed enthusiasm for shortening the period of the vision of the Abuja Treaty. The publication's overall objective is to provide analytical research that defines frameworks for African governments, the African Union and the Regional Economic Communities, towards accelerating the establishment of the African Common Market through: the speedy removal of all tariff and non-tariff barriers, obstacles to free movement of people, investments and factors of production in general across Africa, and through fast-tracking the creation of an African continental Free Trade Area.