The central position of the Gambia inside the territory of Senegal, which it cuts almost in two, represents one of the main challenges that both countries must address before thinking of any integration within the larger space of ECOWAS. This is why relations between the Gambia and Senegal were the main theme of topics presented at the national seminar held during two days in Banjul, namely the contradiction of two States sharing the same culture on both sides of their common borders. The seminar held in the Gambia was one of a series of national policy research dialogues, organized between 2005 and 2008 by the Social and Human Sciences Sector of UNESCO, with a view to bringing decision-makers, academics, civil society and others actors together to think about regional integration. Research must proceed and continue alongside the concrete process of making integration happen on the ground.

Since the Treaty establishing the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) was signed in 1975, several protocole have been adopted providing the legal and institutional framework for implementing the integration of the West African sub-region. Ail social and political stakeholders agree that regional integration is a major challenge for development in West Africa. Yet the regional integration process has been affected by many delays, even failures. Member states have pursued a seemingly contradictory dual objective: build a Nation-state within colonial Borders and achieve regional integration to fight against under-development. Can national planning priorities be reconciled with the demands and objectives of regional integration processes in West Africa ? Since 2005, under the auspices of the Management of Social Transformations (MOST) Programme initiative, the Social and Human Sciences Sector of UNESCO has organized a series of national seminars on West African regional integration in the ECOWAS region. Four seminars have so far been organized in Senegal, Mali, Benin and Ghana. This anthology publishes papers presented at Ghana's national seminar on "Nation-states and the Challenge of Regional Integration in West Africa: the Case of Ghana", held in Accra from 8 to 9 November 2005. The contributors suggest that Ghana's reluctance to relinquish its sovereignty stemmed from a lack of commitment in the first 20 years of ECOWAS' existence and preoccupation with its own security and survival against internai and externat threats. The state has currently demonstrated renewed commit-ment by establishing a Ministry of Regional Cooperation and the New Agenda for Africa's Development (NEPAD) to coordinate and manage the sub-regional integration programme. In spite of positive developments, results have been disappointing. The new ministry remains isolated and is constrained by limited resources in finance and manpower. Its approach to integration issues has been elitist and technocratic, concentrating on format trade and ignoring the importance of the informai trade that has been the traditional means of popular participation in the integration of West African economies. Borderland communities with economic and social ties continue to engage in exchanges across political boundaries in defiance of national and state security concerns. Empowerment of Ghanaians involved in small-scale, informa] cross-border trade (in majority, women) "would not only increase the levels of social and economic integration, but would make the benefits of integration available to large sections of the population".

The positive role of ECOWAS and its military-security arm ECOMOG in bringing to an end the decade-long bloody civil war in Sierra Leone, restoring democratic governance and the rule of law, has brought to the fore the value, legitimacy and impact of regional integration and co-operation in West Africa. Insimple terms, ECOWAS and ECOMOG are widely (though not universally) acclaimed as "saviours" and "heroes" in Sierra Leone. But despite this popular acclaim, no serious effort has been made by researchers, political actors, policy practitioners or regional leaders to engage, on a long-term basis, with how regional integration could be used as an engine of national and regional development, faced with the opportunities and challenges of contemporary globalisation ; how to identify the critical everyday issues that affect the human and societal security of the local populace ; or how to use the regional integration processes to find solutions to the myriad problems faced on a daily basis by people of the sub-region. Infact, as Sierra Leone celebrates the 50th anniversary of political independence from British colonial rule, there is a noticeable absence of any focus on ECOWAS and West African integration and co-operation by the political leaders and academic community. The general lack of policy dialogue and critical engagement among researchers, political actors, policy practitioners and regional leaders has made it difficult, if not impossible, for rigorous evidence-based research to influence policy on the West African integration processes. Under the auspices of UNESCO's Management of Social Transformations (MOSn Programme, a series of multidisciplinary seminars took place in each of the fifteen ECOWAS states to foster dialogue between resear chers and political, economic, and social decision-makers for a better understanding of the issues at stake. This book is the result of one such seminar, and of a series of separately commissioned papers by Sierra Leonean researchers from diverse disciplinary backgrounds. Edited by Professor David Francis, Professor of Peace Studies at the University of Bradford, it is based on extensive field research over a number of years, the assessment of primary source and secondary materials relating to ECOWAS integration, as well as to Sierra Leone's foreign, security and development policy approach to regional integration and cooperation.

The role of integration as a catalyst for economic growth, development and insulation from global shocks has made the concept of regional integration even more attractive to states. This books contains compelling arguments and empirical observations that detail some of the key opportunities governments in Africa are pursuing.