Integrating Africa: Decolonization's Legacies, Sovereignty and the African Union

by Martin Welz

Overview

The African Union (AU) is a continental organization that comprises every African state except for Morocco, is indeed a pioneering undertaking. Its ambitious aim is to integrate all member states, with the ultimate goal of forming the United States of Africa. Despite several attempts to build a union, the AU has remained an intergovernmental organization, one reason being a perceived unwillingness of the AU states to pool their national sovereignties.

This study seeks to comprehend why Africa’s integration process has not moved towards a supranational organization, using a novel approach. It shifts the usual perspective away from the organization level and provides the first comprehensive and systematic analysis of the AU from the perspective of the states themselves. It includes 8 comprehensive case studies: Algeria, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Mauritius, South African, Swaziland, Uganda and Zimbabwe to help understand their foreign policy and provide key insights into why they are (un)willing to yield sovereignty.

This work will be of great interest to students and scholars of African politics, international relations and international organizations.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780415723343
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	10/16/2013
Series:	Global Institutions
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	266
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Martin Welz is a post-doctoral research fellow at the University of Konstanz, Germany. His current research interests are African politics and African integration processes in particular.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction 2. System, State, Statesman 3. Cases 4. Zimbabwe 5. Swaziland 6. Algeria 7. Ethiopia 8. Burkina Faso 9. South Africa 10. Uganda 11. Mauritius 12. Conclusion: Shaping the Future of the African Union

Editorial Reviews

'The books innovative general perspective and its well-structured and accessible empirical material make it an important contribution to the academic debate on the African Union as well as an insightful read for everyone-academics, students and practitioners alike-seeking to understand African continental integration dynamics.' - Antonia Witt, University of Bremen

'Integrating Africa is a meticulously researched and accessible study into the AU. It serves as a useful contribution to the literature on the AU and provides a number of fascinating perspectives into some of the main issues from the perspective of its member states. Moving away from traditional academic interpretations, this book will help readers to develop a deeper understanding of the organisation and the on-going debates about its future and purpose.' - Matthew Graham, University of Dundee

'This book's timely, compelling findings are a valuable contribution to our understanding of AU member states' politics of sovereignty and the consequences for continental integration. Integrating Africa is an authoritative work by a promising young scholar that deserves a spot on university reading lists for courses on African politics, foreign policy analysis, and international organisations.' - Michael Olender, Politikon

From the Publisher