COLONIAL BOUNDARIES AND ECONOMIC INTEGRATION IN AFRICA WITH PARTICULAR REFERENCE TO THE AEC AND ECOWAS TREATIES
COLONIAL BOUNDARIES AND ECONOMIC INTEGRATION IN AFRICA WITH PARTICULAR REFERENCE TO THE AEC AND ECOWAS TREATIES
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Date
1996-10
Authors
YAGBA, Terlumum Aben Thoman
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Abstract
Africa’s existing international boundaries are a product of the
colonial partition in the 19th Century. Following independence, the
colonial territories became sovereign nation states divided by the lines
of colonial demarcation along with a series of commercial, linguistic,
political and legal barriers.
These barriers, imposed and reinforced by the international law
regime relating to state boundaries, and sovereignty constitute
impediments to inter-state or intra-regional intercourse and overall
economic development on the continent. One major obstacle has been
the narrow territorial frameworks or limited internal markets of
individual countries which hamper economies of scale, higher
productivity and international competitiveness.
Several regional economic co-operation projects have been tried
within the context of existing international law and inter-state
diplomacy with little or no success. This work is an effort to assess
current efforts at regional economic integration at the continental and
sub-regional levels against the background of the rules governing
international boundaries and their impact on inter-state or intraregional
economic relations. Particular alien!ion is focused on the
Treaties establishing the African Economic Community (1991) and the
Economic Community of West African States (1975 as revised in
1993).
Chapter one is the general introduction. It sets out the
conceptual framework and objectives of the the work; the research
problem and scope of the work. It also highlights the significance of
the study, and its methodology.
Chapter Two deals with the history of border and economic
relations in Africa. It attempts to provide historical glimpses into the
state of pre-colonial political economy and trade on the continent
before the contact with Europe from about the 14th century. It also
examines the notion of boundaries in Africa’s precolonial political
formations. Lastly it looks at the European penetration and
subsequent colonisation of Africa and their impact on indigenous
commercial intercourse and state organisation.
Chapter Three looks at the legal implications of independence
for colonial territories in Africa and the associated problems of legal
title to territory arising from the principles of classical international
law. The chapter also examines the problems of stale boundaries in
African economic relations especially in connection with informal
transborder trade.
Chapter Four considers the historical background to the idea
of continental economic integration in Africa. It discusses existing
integration projects on the continent. It also attempts to outline the
legal framework, structure, status and scope of the African Economic
Community as reflected in the Abuja Treaty of
Chapter five examines the provisions of the Abuja Treaty which
seek to address the constraints to inter-state or intra-regional trade,
namely the rules stipulating for freedom of movement, residence and
establishment for citizens of member states in each other’s territory.
These are compared to free movement regimes in other regions and the
legal harmonisation framework that supports those regimes.
Chapter Six addresses the problems of integration in Africa with
particular reference to the experiences of ECOWAS. Strict border
maintenance policies and undue attachment to notions of sovereignty are
identified as the major obstacles to integration against the socioeconomic
realities in the sub-region.
Chapter seven then identifies the major responses to the
prevalence of strict border regimes in the Nigerian and African contexts
and evaluates these against the wider imperatives of continental
economic integration. It recommends an enabling framework for transborder
co-operation that may be adopted from the European model.
Chapter Eight summarises the major recommendations of the
thesis. It concludes by reiterating the desirability of economic
integration in Africa and the necessity for instituting more liberal
border management policies that would
reduce the negative, exclusionary functions of international
boundaries on the continent while promoting free movement and
intra-regional intercourse across the continent.
Description
A Dissertation submitted to the Postgraduate School of Ahmadu Bello
University, Zaria, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Award
of the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D) in Law.
DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC LAW
FACULTY OF LAW
AHMADU BELLO UNIVERSITY, ZAR1A, NIGERIA.
Keywords
COLONIAL BOUNDARIES,, ECONOMIC INTEGRATION IN AFRICA,, PARTICULAR REFERENCE,, AEC AND ECOWAS TREATIES