Africa’s Regional Integration: Uncertain future in a Global turmoil
Africa is at a critical juncture in its role in the multilateral trading system. While the effects of the Russian-Ukraine war and the global pandemic maybe gradually fading away, rising geo-economics and geopolitical tensions in the Global South, the Middle East, and the Global North, growing trade protectionism, conflicts and migration, climate change, and food insecurity are influencing and shaping policies in many countries on the continent. The aftermath of these developments, however, can vary greatly and depend heavily on country-specific readiness and preparedness. For example, despite its abundant wealth of natural resources (e.g. minerals, crude oil, gas, timber, raw agricultural produce etc.) the continent does not benefit from trade of its natural resources and remains at the peripheries of the global value chain (GVC) in different economic sectors across the globe. At the same time, African countries could look inward for opportunities that could strengthen intra-African trade and integration into the global economy, and strengthen Africa’s position at multilateral and bilateral levels.
The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is a landmark agreement among African countries aimed at creating a single continental market for goods and services with its primary objectives including eliminating tariffs on intra-African trade, fostering economic cooperation, and enhancing the movement of people across borders. A continent-wide market is expected to spur investments, promote competitiveness and create economies of scale. At the same time, external dynamics are changing. The recently proposed unilateral tariffs, as well as the travel ban put in place by the United States, political and economic tensions in the ECOWAS and EAC, sparked fears of further marginalization of African countries in the global economy, but could also provide opportunities for a closer and more active regional integration efforts within the continent and beyond.
Given these dynamics, policy-making in the continent’s interest requires a rethink and in-depth understanding of their (medium to long-run) implications not only on directly related measures such as trade and investment, but also more broadly on economic growth and the structural transformation of African economies. Therefore, we invite scholars to submit their original research papers to the Special Issue on Africa’s Regional Integration: Uncertain future in a Global turmoil.
Submitted papers need to show a clear link to Africa’s regional integration efforts and experiences within the AfCFTA framework. We welcome policy-relevant quantitative and qualitative approaches from both a legal and economic perspectives. Areas of interest include but are not limited to the following: