The structure of the book
This book is structured to add to the literature by interrogating the neo-functional regional approach to tackling security and development challenges in Africa. The aim is to trigger further academic research as well as provoke scholarly debates and intellectual discourse towards engendering the needed paradigm shift in African integration. In order to achieve this objective and embrace these afore-mentioned issues and more, this volume is divided into seventeen chapters authored by renowned and reputable scholars of mostly African descent from various African countries working in Africa and abroad. This book volume embodies or reflects the three major intellectual traditions or orientations in study of regional integration in Africa: Afro-optimism, Afro-pessimism, and Afrorealism. The contributors exhibit these tendencies and sentiments.
It further examines regional integration, security, and development in Africa. From the foregoing, therefore, it can be seen that the book revolves around four main themes. Part I, titled ‘History and Theory of African Regionalism’, contains chapters that focus on the historical evolution, conceptual nature, theoretical perspectives, foreign policy implications, and diplomatic context of regionalism in Africa. Part II of the book, entitled ‘Africa’s Comparative Regionalism’, comprises chapters that examine comparative regionalism in Africa vis-à-vis prospects and challenges of sub-regional integration in Africa; potentials and constraints of pan-African regionalism; and prospects and possibility of trans-regional partnerships with Europe, Latin America, and Asia.
The book’s Part III, titled ‘Regionalism and Security in Africa’, consists of chapters that discuss peace and security implications of regionalism in Africa with respect to regional security architecture, conflict resolution, conflict management, conflict transformation, peacebuilding, peacekeeping as well as nationalism, separatism, secessionism, militancy, terrorism, insurgency, insurrection, xenophobia, sit-tight syndrome, and political succession crisis. Last, Part IV of the book, entitled ‘African Integration and Development’, includes chapters that investigate the development implications of African regionalism in relation to démocratisation, gender, intra-regional trade, extra-regional trade, bilateralism, multilateralism, and globalisation.
