DOCSLIB.ORG

Contemporary Pan-Africanism and the Challenges to a United States of Africa Adesola Adeyemo [email protected]

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Contemporary Pan-Africanism and the Challenges to a United States of Africa Adesola Adeyemo Aaadeyemo@Dons.Usfca.Edu The University of San Francisco USF Scholarship: a digital repository @ Gleeson Library | Geschke Center Master's Theses Theses, Dissertations, Capstones and Projects Fall 12-14-2018 The pirS it is Willing, But the Flesh is Weak: Contemporary Pan-Africanism and The Challenges to A United States of Africa Adesola Adeyemo [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.usfca.edu/thes Part of the African History Commons, African Studies Commons, Comparative Politics Commons, Cultural History Commons, Economic History Commons, Economic Policy Commons, Growth and Development Commons, Inequality and Stratification Commons, International Relations Commons, Organization Development Commons, Policy Design, Analysis, and Evaluation Commons, Policy History, Theory, and Methods Commons, Political Economy Commons, Political History Commons, Political Theory Commons, Politics and Social Change Commons, Quantitative, Qualitative, Comparative, and Historical Methodologies Commons, Race, Ethnicity and Post-Colonial Studies Commons, and the Regional Economics Commons Recommended Citation Adeyemo, Adesola, "The pS irit is Willing, But the Flesh is Weak: Contemporary Pan-Africanism and The hC allenges to A United States of Africa" (2018). Master's Theses. 1157. https://repository.usfca.edu/thes/1157 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses, Dissertations, Capstones and Projects at USF Scholarship: a digital repository @ Gleeson Library | Geschke Center. It has been accepted for inclusion in Master's Theses by an authorized administrator of USF Scholarship: a digital repository @ Gleeson Library | Geschke Center. For more information, please contact [email protected]. The Spirit is Willing, But the Flesh is Weak: Contemporary Pan-Africanism and The Challenges to A United States of Africa Adesola A. Adeyemo University of San Francisco Master’s in International Studies Thesis The Spirit is Willing, But the Flesh is Weak: Contemporary Pan-Africanism and The Challenges to A United States of Africa In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree MASTER OF ARTS in INTERNATIONAL STUDIES by Adesola A. Adeyemo November 20, 2018 UNIVERSITY OF SAN FRANCISCO Under the guidance and approval of the committee, and approval by all the members, this thesis project has been accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree. APPROVED: Adviser Date ________________________________________ ________________________ Academic Director Date ________________________________________ ________________________ Abstract: Establishing a ‘United States of Africa’ to the average individual is deemed as a mythical idea in contemporary Africa, irrespective of the popularity of this idea several years ago. Today, the idea is idealized as overambitious – considering the balkanized state of the continent post- colonialization. Because of this, attempts made since then have favored enforcing regional integration over continental integration. Undeniably, this idea would not have come into being if it wasn’t for the concept of Pan-Africanism - which has for long guided the political and socio- economic policies created on the continent. The goal of this research is to explore the perceptions of Pan-Africanism on the continent tracing it from the past to the present conceptions. At the same time, this study aims to highlight efforts that have been made by the African Union - idolized to be a ‘renaissance of Pan-Africanism, towards continental integration. In turn analyzing whether continental integration will eventually occur – seeing as it is at the crux of the agendas laid out and encompassed in the philosophy. Acknowledgements: First, I would like to convey my sincere gratitude to Professor Paller and Professor Dowd- Uribe for believing in my abilities, most especially this research topic. Most especially Professor Paller who has been an excellent advisor and/or mentor and has contributed immensely to guiding me on how best to structure this thesis. Second, I would like to thank my parents and siblings for supporting me throughout my academic career at the University of San Francisco. All of this would not have been possible without all of them. Table of Contents Signature Page Abstract Acknowledgement Introduction ................................................................................................................................................... 1-20 Methodology ......................................................................................................................... 6-11 Literature Review ............................................................................................................. 11-20 Chapter 1: The Evolution of the Concept of Pan-Africanism ........................................................ 21-45 What is Pan-Africanism? ...................................................................................................... 21-23 Pan-Africanism in the Diaspora ....................................................................................... 23-28 Pan-African Congresses ................................................................................................... 28-31 Wave of Pan-Africanism in Africa ................................................................................... 32-37 Symbolic Pan-Africanism & Threat to State Sovereignty ............................................... 37-45 Chapter 2: Perception of Pan-Africanism in Contemporary Africa ............................................ 46-65 How African Union Diplomats Perceive Pan-Africanism in Modern Day Africa ................ 48 Chapter 3: Pan-Africanism in Policy: A United States of Africa? ................................................. 66-95 Seek Ye First the Economic Kingdom: Shift to Economic Policies from a Political Approach ......................................................................................................................................... .65-67 Regional Economic Communities (RECs) ...................................................................... 67-77 Agenda 2063: Africa We Want ....................................................................................... 77-80 African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) ............................................................ 80-87 African Passport .............................................................................................................. 89-95 Chapter 4: Book EndinG ........................................................................................................................ 96-101 Bibliography ............................................................................................................................................ 102-107 Appendix ................................................................................................................................................... 108-109 1 Introduction The forces that unite us are intrinsic and greater than the superimposed influences that keep us apart. - Kwame Nkrumah (Africa Must Unite) Without unity, there is no future for Africa. - Julius Nyerere Continental integration today, primarily for the continent of Africa continues to be one of the most controversial topics. This research is strategically titled “The Spirit is Willing, but the Flesh is Weak: Contemporary Pan-Africanism and The Challenges to a United States of Africa.” In other words, the transmutation of the continent of Africa into one country or a federal government (Efrat, 1964), guided by a single government with the jurisdiction to control the politically and economically feeble states within the continent. The idea of creating a ‘United States of Africa’ has been in the Pan-African discourse in Africa for quite some time and has been heavily contested within the continent and in the diaspora. The opinion of using Pan-Africanism as a mechanism for the realization of the notion of a ‘United States of Africa’ dates back to the period when African forefathers were struggling for independence from colonial rule. Bright African Pan-Africanists like Kwame Nkrumah, Sekou Touré, Tom Mboya, Nnamdi Azikiwe, Lumumba Patrick, and Julius Nyerere were amongst the many (African) proponents of this doctrine. In light of this, the main question driving this research asks; how do contemporary understandings of Pan-Africanism and the African Union help us to better understand the challenges and possibilities for a United States of Africa? Put differently, why is the concept of Pan-Africanism endorsed on the continent but is yet to be put into practice? Essentially, why are there large proponents of Pan-Africanism, explicitly those who are patrons of the reputable African Union (an epitome of the Pan-African philosophy), but are still skeptical of applying the ideology in reality by pushing the boundaries beyond the creation of an institution that does not entirely 2 express the core values of the concept? Other questions that encircle this topic and research deal with questioning; what has happened to pan-Africanism on the continent? does it still exist in ways that it did 50 years ago?, how will a 'United States of Africa' play out locally and globally?, alternatively, are there winners and losers to the fulfillment of the pan-African dream?, what are the short-term and long-term outcomes, are there any substitutes to what constitutes as “African unity?” what can be done to extricate the continent from generational curses and
Load more

Recommended publications
  • UNU-CRIS Working Papers
    UNU-CRIS Working Papers W-2007/6 MICRO -REGIONALISM IN AFRICA : Competing Region-building in the Maputo Development Corridor Fredrik Söderbaum * Ian Taylor ** *Fredrik Söderbaum divides his time as Associate Professor in Peace and Development Research, as Director of the Centre for African Studies at the School of Global Studies at Göteborg University, and as an Associate Research Fellow at UNU-CRIS. He is primarily published on the topic of regionalism, most recently The EU as a Global Player: The Politics of Interregionalism (co-edited with Luk van Langenhove, Routledge, 2006). ** Ian Taylor is Senior Lecturer in the School of International Relations, University of St. Andrews; Associate Professor Extraordinary in the Department of Political Science, University of Stellenbosch, South Africa; and Visiting Lecturer, Faculty of Development Studies, Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Uganda. He is widely published on African politics and international relations, most recently China and Africa: Engagement and Compromise (Routledge, 2006) and NEPAD: Towards Africa’s Development or Another False Start? (Lynne Rienner, 2005). Micro-regionalism in Africa: Competing Region-building in the Maputo Development Corridor * Fredrik Söderbaum and Ian Taylor 1. Introduction Regionalist processes are occurring all over the world, not least the formation of micro-regions which, although obviously not a new occurrence, are more and more cross-border in nature rather than being contained within the boundaries of a particular nation-state (the standard conception of a micro-region). 1 The African continent has not missed out on the growth in the number of such micro-regions which are currently reconfiguring the world (Breslin and Hook, 2002; Perkmann and Sum, 2002), but the problem is that such micro-regions have received rather muted attention.
    [Show full text]
  • Kwame Nkrumah and the Pan- African Vision: Between Acceptance and Rebuttal
    Austral: Brazilian Journal of Strategy & International Relations e-ISSN 2238-6912 | ISSN 2238-6262| v.5, n.9, Jan./Jun. 2016 | p.141-164 KWAME NKRUMAH AND THE PAN- AFRICAN VISION: BETWEEN ACCEPTANCE AND REBUTTAL Henry Kam Kah1 Introduction The Pan-African vision of a United of States of Africa was and is still being expressed (dis)similarly by Africans on the continent and those of Afri- can descent scattered all over the world. Its humble origins and spread is at- tributed to several people based on their experiences over time. Among some of the advocates were Henry Sylvester Williams, Marcus Garvey and George Padmore of the diaspora and Peter Abrahams, Jomo Kenyatta, Sekou Toure, Julius Nyerere and Kwame Nkrumah of South Africa, Kenya, Guinea, Tanza- nia and Ghana respectively. The different pan-African views on the African continent notwithstanding, Kwame Nkrumah is arguably in a class of his own and perhaps comparable only to Mwalimu Julius Nyerere. Pan-Africanism became the cornerstone of his struggle for the independence of Ghana, other African countries and the political unity of the continent. To transform this vision into reality, Nkrumah mobilised the Ghanaian masses through a pop- ular appeal. Apart from his eloquent speeches, he also engaged in persuasive writings. These writings have survived him and are as appealing today as they were in the past. Kwame Nkrumah ceased every opportunity to persuasively articulate for a Union Government for all of Africa. Due to his unswerving vision for a Union Government for Africa, the visionary Kwame Nkrumah created a microcosm of African Union through the Ghana-Guinea and then Ghana-Guinea-Mali Union.
    [Show full text]
  • The Audience: African- Language Writing, Performance, Publishing and the Audience
    “Looting killed” the audience: African- language writing, performance, publishing and the audience T.J. Selepe School of Languages Potchefstroom University for CHE (Vaal Triangle Campus) VANDERBIJLPARK E-mail: [email protected] Abstract “Looting killed” the audience: African-language writing, performance, publishing and the audience This article examines the role played by African-language writing, performance and publishing, including critical practice, in the demise of the indigenous audience in African-language literary practice. Using implicit materialism the argument is premised on the developments wrought by the era of Modernism that has lead to a univocal writing of world history, and the era of Postmodernism that has ushered in the era of a multivocal writing of world history. The transition from oral literature to written literature will also be used to advance the argument about the subsequent exclusion of the indigenous African- language audience from literary practice. This exclusion is considered to have a direct bearing on the under-development of African societies. Finally, possible solutions will be sought by revisiting some of the causes that characterize the African language problem as a medium of communication and research. 1. Introduction Language is central to the life of a people, both as carrier and transmitter of the culture of any linguistic community. Essentially, language is a basic tool that particular communities develop to relate to their respective environments, to develop culture and to tell stories in order to make Literator 22(3) Nov. 2001:59-74 ISSN 0258-2279 59 “Looting killed” the audience: African-language writing, performance, publishing … sense of their world.
    [Show full text]
  • Kwame Nkrumah, His Afro-American Network and the Pursuit of an African Personality
    Illinois State University ISU ReD: Research and eData Theses and Dissertations 3-22-2019 Kwame Nkrumah, His Afro-American Network and the Pursuit of an African Personality Emmanuella Amoh Illinois State University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://ir.library.illinoisstate.edu/etd Part of the African American Studies Commons, and the African History Commons Recommended Citation Amoh, Emmanuella, "Kwame Nkrumah, His Afro-American Network and the Pursuit of an African Personality" (2019). Theses and Dissertations. 1067. https://ir.library.illinoisstate.edu/etd/1067 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by ISU ReD: Research and eData. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ISU ReD: Research and eData. For more information, please contact [email protected]. KWAME NKRUMAH, HIS AFRO-AMERICAN NETWORK AND THE PURSUIT OF AN AFRICAN PERSONALITY EMMANUELLA AMOH 105 Pages This thesis explores the pursuit of a new African personality in post-colonial Ghana by President Nkrumah and his African American network. I argue that Nkrumah’s engagement with African Americans in the pursuit of an African Personality transformed diaspora relations with Africa. It also seeks to explore Black women in this transnational history. Women are not perceived to be as mobile as men in transnationalism thereby underscoring their inputs in the construction of certain historical events. But through examining the lived experiences of Shirley Graham Du Bois and to an extent Maya Angelou and Pauli Murray in Ghana, the African American woman’s role in the building of Nkrumah’s Ghana will be explored in this thesis.
    [Show full text]
  • The Thought of Leopold Sedar Senghor
    The Journal of Social Encounters Volume 4 Issue 1 Article 6 2020 Hegel’s Philosophy of History-A Challenge to the African Thinker: The Thought of Leopold Sedar Senghor Basile Sede Noujio North Carolina Agricultural and Technological University Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.csbsju.edu/social_encounters Part of the African Studies Commons, and the Peace and Conflict Studies Commons Recommended Citation Sede Noujio, Basile (2020) "Hegel’s Philosophy of History-A Challenge to the African Thinker: The Thought of Leopold Sedar Senghor," The Journal of Social Encounters: Vol. 4: Iss. 1, 57-69. Available at: https://digitalcommons.csbsju.edu/social_encounters/vol4/iss1/6 This Additional Essay is brought to you for free and open access by DigitalCommons@CSB/SJU. It has been accepted for inclusion in The Journal of Social Encounters by an authorized editor of DigitalCommons@CSB/SJU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. The Journal of Social Encounters Hegel’s Philosophy of History-A Challenge to the African Thinker: The Thought of Leopold Sedar Senghor Basile Sede Noujio North Carolina Agricultural and Technological University Abstract Philosophy of History, as an academic discipline, challenges the choices that we make, motivated by our respective historical circumstances. Hegel considers Africa as an unhistorical continent, whose inhabitants can only be equated to animals or worthless article, bound to remain in slavery and in subhuman conditions. On the other hand, Léopold Sedar Senghor, in his Négritude ideology, portrays the values embedded in the African cultural and traditional practices. The intellectual aptness of the Africans, in this work is manifested in the very ideas of Senghor which we are using to contest those of Hegel.
    [Show full text]
  • The Routledge Handbook of African Development the African Idea Of
    This article was downloaded by: 10.3.98.104 On: 03 Oct 2021 Access details: subscription number Publisher: Routledge Informa Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registered office: 5 Howick Place, London SW1P 1WG, UK The Routledge Handbook of African Development Tony Binns, Kenneth Lynch, Etienne Nel The African idea of development Publication details https://www.routledgehandbooks.com/doi/10.4324/9781315712482-3 Sabelo J. Ndlovu-Gatsheni Published online on: 18 Apr 2018 How to cite :- Sabelo J. Ndlovu-Gatsheni. 18 Apr 2018, The African idea of development from: The Routledge Handbook of African Development Routledge Accessed on: 03 Oct 2021 https://www.routledgehandbooks.com/doi/10.4324/9781315712482-3 PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR DOCUMENT Full terms and conditions of use: https://www.routledgehandbooks.com/legal-notices/terms This Document PDF may be used for research, teaching and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproductions, re-distribution, re-selling, loan or sub-licensing, systematic supply or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. The publisher does not give any warranty express or implied or make any representation that the contents will be complete or accurate or up to date. The publisher shall not be liable for an loss, actions, claims, proceedings, demand or costs or damages whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with or arising out of the use of this material. 3 The African idea of development Sabelo J. Ndlovu-Gatsheni Introduction African development can be defined from Marcus Garvey’s perspective as constant and consist- ent African search for self-improvement.
    [Show full text]
  • The Hermeneutical Paradigm in African Philosophy Genesis, Evolution and Issues
    Nokoko Institute of African Studies Carleton University (Ottawa, Canada) 2017 (6) The Hermeneutical Paradigm in African Philosophy Genesis, Evolution and Issues Louis-Dominique Biakolo Komo The aim of this reflection is a diachronic analysis and an appreciation of the hermeneutical paradigm in African philosophy. This paradigm raises the problem of the relationship between culture and philosophy and sub- sequently, the problem of the relationship between universality and partic- ularity. In fact, it seems evident that if philosophy is not a cultural product, it is nevertheless a critical reflection which always manifests in its contents a specific cultural and historical experience. Thus, African philosophy nec- essarily evolves within African cultures. Therefore, universality and particu- larity are necessarily connected in the sense that culture manifests human potentialities. If African cultures must be the starting point of African phi- losophy, African philosophers must not forget to engage critically with cul- ture; and that, definitely, it is our historical context that determines the ap- preciation of both our culture and others’. The Hermeneutical Paradigm is one of the most important trends in modern and contemporary African Philosophy. This is due to the fact that philosophy is inherently interpreta- tive. It is the product of language, context, and history, and hence inextricably linked to culture. Culture is the expression of human thought or creativity, as wherever human beings exist, they express their thought in language and culture. It thus becomes absurd to 82 Nokoko 6 2017 affirm that some human beings or human societies, who have their own cultures and languages, do not think. Therefore, one can under- stand the important development that the Hermeneutical Paradigm in African philosophy has taken.
    [Show full text]
  • Submission to the University of Baltimore School of Law‟S Center on Applied Feminism for Its Fourth Annual Feminist Legal Theory Conference
    Submission to the University of Baltimore School of Law‟s Center on Applied Feminism for its Fourth Annual Feminist Legal Theory Conference. “Applying Feminism Globally.” Feminism from an African and Matriarchal Culture Perspective How Ancient Africa’s Gender Sensitive Laws and Institutions Can Inform Modern Africa and the World Fatou Kiné CAMARA, PhD Associate Professor of Law, Faculté des Sciences Juridiques et Politiques, Université Cheikh Anta Diop de Dakar, SENEGAL “The German experience should be regarded as a lesson. Initially, after the codification of German law in 1900, academic lectures were still based on a study of private law with reference to Roman law, the Pandectists and Germanic law as the basis for comparison. Since 1918, education in law focused only on national law while the legal-historical and comparative possibilities that were available to adapt the law were largely ignored. Students were unable to critically analyse the law or to resist the German socialist-nationalism system. They had no value system against which their own legal system could be tested.” Du Plessis W. 1 Paper Abstract What explains that in patriarchal societies it is the father who passes on his name to his child while in matriarchal societies the child bears the surname of his mother? The biological reality is the same in both cases: it is the woman who bears the child and gives birth to it. Thus the answer does not lie in biological differences but in cultural ones. So far in feminist literature the analysis relies on a patriarchal background. Not many attempts have been made to consider the way gender has been used in matriarchal societies.
    [Show full text]
  • At-Issue African Philosophy and the Lingering Question of Methodology
    African Studies Quarterly | Volume 19, Issue 2| May 2020 At-Issue African Philosophy and the Lingering Question of Methodology EMMANUEL IFEANYI ANI Abstract: Since the post-World War II era there has been a lingering controversy about what we should be doing in the name of African philosophy. Whilst some argue that it is the espousing of collective traditional practices, norms and values, others argue that it is the critical argumentation done by individual philosophers on any topic worth philosophical attention. There has been an attempt to forge a compromise in what is called sage philosophy, but there is no guaranteed accuracy in this attempt. My argument is that the debate persists because of a hasty expectation of African philosophy. Secondly, it appears that we cannot avoid argumentation as a methodology in African philosophy, contrary to the position of some supporters of the “ethno” philosophy school. Keywords: African philosophy, African values, post colonialism, ethno philosophy Introduction The way philosophy is produced in Africa will ultimately determine the continent’s contribution to the field. I open the discussion of the question about methodology by outlining the post-World War II period of philosophizing in Africa. This period highlights the disagreement between “ethno” and “professional” philosophers about how we should philosophize in Africa. I outline four points of disagreement between these two schools, and argue that these points of disagreement evidence a hasty expectation of African philosophy at its early stage, of which both parties to the debate are somewhat guilty, especially the ethno philosophy school. I conclude the article by also observing that ethno philosophy prolongs the debate unnecessarily due to the lack of understanding of its supporters of what argumentation really means.
    [Show full text]
  • Transnational Trills in the Africana World
    Transnational Trills in the Africana World Transnational Trills in the Africana World Edited by Cheryl Sterling Transnational Trills in the Africana World Series: Studies in African Humanities Edited by Cheryl Sterling This book first published 2019 Cambridge Scholars Publishing Lady Stephenson Library, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE6 2PA, UK British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Copyright © 2019 by Cheryl Sterling and contributors All rights for this book reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner. ISBN (10): 1-5275-2321-7 ISBN (13): 978-1-5275-2321-0 TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements ................................................................................. viii Contributors ............................................................................................... ix A Note from the Series Editor ................................................................. xiv Introduction ................................................................................................ 1 The Africana Matrix Ideology as Aesthetics Cheryl Sterling Section I - Music and Politics Chapter One .............................................................................................. 22 Rethinking the African Link: Nationalism, Freedom, and Culture in Jazz Signifiers Joseph
    [Show full text]
  • African Literature 6
    294 A F R [C A 4. Sheila S. Walker, "Women in the Harrist Movement:' in BennettaJules-Rosette;.i New Religions ofAfrica (Norwood, N.J.: Ablex Publishing Corp., 1979), pp. 5. For a compelling and detailed reading of the evolution of popular theater in Eileen Julien region of Zaire, see Johannes Fabian, Power and Performance: Ethnographic through Proverbial WIsdom and Theater in Shaba, Zaire (Madison: University Press, 1990). African Literature 6. Chris Dunton, "Slapstick in Johannesburg," West Africa, 18-24 Apri11994, 7. Eckhard Breitinger, "Agitprop for a Better World: Development Theater-A Grassroots Theatre Movement," in Raoul Granqvist, ed., Signs and Signals: PEln"I..", "Truth depends not only on who listens but on who speaks." in Africa (Stockholm: UMEA, 1990), pp. 93-120. -Birago Diop 8. For a comprehensive overview of the evolution of the cinema industry in postcolonial Africa, see Manthia Diawara's African Cinema (Bloomington: "Always something new from Africa." sity Press, ] 992). My discussion of the cinema in Africa has drawn heavily from this -Rabelais source. 9. Chris Stapleton and Chris May, African Rock: The Pop Music ofa Continent Dutton, 1990), p. 5. 10. Quoted from John Collins, West African Pop Roots (philadelphia: Temple Press, 1992), p. 91. When most Americans and Europeans use the expression 11. Paul J. Lane, "Tourism and Social Change among the Dogon," African Arts (1988): 66-69, 92. "African literature," what they mean is poetry, plays, and narrative written by Africans in English and French, and SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER READING perhaps Portuguese. This chapter will focus primarily on these1 texts, sometimes referred to as "Euro-African," which are particularly acces­ Cole, Herbert M., and Doran H.
    [Show full text]
  • Sovereignty and the 'United States of Africa'
    Sovereignty and the ‘United States of Africa’ Insights from the EU George Mukundi Wachira ISS Paper 144 • June 2007 Price: R15.00 Introduction to cede some of their sovereignty to bring about an effective union and institutions that have the powers to The transformation of the Organisation of African execute common competencies. Thus the realisation Unity (OAU) into the African Union (AU) has heralded of a continental government or governing framework is new hope and aspirations for unity and integration for premised on the willingness by states to give up some the continent. However, one of the greatest hurdles of their sovereignty – as experiences in other parts of to such unity has been African states’ grip onto their the world portray. sovereign powers (Naldi in Evans & Murray 2002:1). This is despite the fact that since the World War II, While there may be other models1 from which Africa international law has increasingly transformed the could seek inspiration in its pursuit for a United traditional concept of sovereignty. International and States of Africa, the European Union (EU) model is intergovernmental bodies such as the AU, the UN, the examined for comparative purposes in this paper. World Trade Organisation (WTO) and This is done in a bid to illustrate how sub-regional economic bodies have also states have and are willing to cede urged states to give up some of their some of their sovereignty to effectively sovereignty if they are to realise their achieve common competencies through full economic and political potential. The
    [Show full text]