How does political conflict influence the international integration of sub-Saharan regions in regards to globalisation (original) (raw)
Related papers
Globalisation and Conflict: Evidence from Sub-Saharan Africa
Revue internationale de politique de développement, 2018
The views expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent those of the funder, ERSA or the author's affiliated institution(s). ERSA shall not be liable to any person for inaccurate information or opinions contained herein.
Globalization, Conflict and Security in Africa 1 2 3 2
lobalization has brought issues that are related to struggle for power and resources, identity G contestation, border issues, religious fundamentalism, poverty, unemployment, exploitation and issues that are related to separatism/secession. These changes brought by globalization is changing the nature of conflicts and wars across Africa, from liberation struggle, to interstate, to intrastate and terrorism. This paper examined the globalization-Conflict synergy and their implications for security in Africa. It utilized qualitative and content analysis as methodology. The findings of the paper revealed that globalization operates like a double-edged sword in Africa, with both negative and positive impact on security. The negative impact of globalization in Africa is sophistication of conflict that has devastating effects on security and development. Globalization and conflict in that respect are two sides of a coin in Africa. The paper concluded that the implications of globalization in Africa are accompanied by multidimensional conflicts. This means that globalization has more negative than positive impact on security. Despite the fact that conflict is inevitable in human interactions, the nature of conflict influenced by globalization is intricate and precarious in its manifestations in Africa. The paper recommended among others that there is urgent needs to fight against corruption and deprivation; and has to be the top priority of most African leaders, because corruption can deprived many of their right and opportunity as citizens. Also, there is urgent need for solving the problem of unemployment as measure to curb security in most African states.
Globalization and management of regional conflicts and security in Africa: The case of ECOWAS
2014
Globalization, characterized by liberalism, free market policies, information and communication technology, inter-connection, inter dependence, borderless border, etc, has made the world a global village. The new phase of the international political economy has challenged Africa to face her numerous conflicts, and security issues squarely. The pathology of conflicts and insecurity in such places in Africa as Ethiopia, Somalia, Sudan, Angola, Chad, Congo (DRC), Cote d’ivoire, Sierra Leone, Liberia, etc, have become so endemic in recent times affecting development and good governance, creating serious challenges to regional organizations ability to manage such conflicts and security. The paper analyzes regional conflicts and security challenges in Africa with special focus on West Africa. In the main, it explains several underlying concepts, theories and causes of regional conflicts. Furthermore, the article addresses major security concerns of the sub-region such as small arms prolif...
Unlike unilateral policies, multilateral commitments are more credible, in particular, because of the strategic interaction between government and private sector, which makes the agreement more attractive. In this setting, governments use international trade agreements to enhance the credibility of their policy choices with respect to the private sector. Today, humankind stands on an extraordinary, and perhaps, seductive sets of dilemma: a global lifestyle and value system in which the 21 st century has ushered in unprecedented global wealth; yet, such a lot that is all lavishly squandered, while Africa is haunted by an oppressive present-an embodiment of conflicts and devoured natural environment. Elbowing the heinous crimes of slave trade, and later on, colonialism and militarism, Pan-Africanism represents the complexities of black political and intellectual thought over two hundred years. At a basic level, it is a belief that African peoples, both in Africa and Diaspora taken as slave labour, share not merely a common history, but also a common destiny. Even today, Africa faces the usual panoply of challenges endemic in with too few instruments and too few resources, while also grappling with the perennial problem of non-integration. While the top five fast growing economies are in the continent, coupled with the impact of the recent trade war, globalisation and regional integration are disembarking on ill-prepared African leadership… Hence, Africa should modify regulatory policies that inflate business costs and depress urban consumer incomes, go for bolder and more unconventional agricultural policies and put in place a smarter set of policies for the financial sector. On regional integration, the case for government investments in public goods such as roads and power infrastructure is undeniable, as it is laying the essential foundations— the necessary conduits and circuitry—of a modern economy. The peace initiative with Eritrea has suddenly transformed the Horn of Africa where Somalia and Eritrea have made peace, there is dialogue between Djibouti and Eritrea and the South Sudanese have once more put pen to paper to make peace. On ethnic based conflicts, the degree of self-determination up to and including secession, has been widely assumed by its critics that this was pronounced with the objective of legitimising the stand that condoned the secession of Eritrea. Consistent with this strategy, a major restructuring of Ethiopian polity has been undertaken, setting the foundation for and cutting it up into a score of regional governments based on linguistic, ethnic, and cultural identity. Hence, maintaining peace, law and order are paramount if the economic trajectories will continue as expected by IFIs that have been pumping loans and grants to the state. Moreover, if it is going to continue to be the darling of FDI, it must secure law and order with a view to secure more investments.
A regional integration by its very nature integrates its members into an economic union and acts as a bloc on matters affecting its members vis-a-vis other regional blocs and non members. Its hegemonic nature of hedging its members against all forms of exploitation and intimidation by other regional blocs and non-members and its desire to stem the tide of trade diversion, and to create and foster intra-union flow of trade, factors and investment at the exclusion of non-members and other regional blocs run contradictory to the aims and objectives of the globalization process which is the integration of the world economy through the breaking down of trade and investment barriers worldwide. Given these contradictory objectives of the regional blocs and the globalization process, this study examines the roles of the ECOWAS as an agent in the globalization process in the West African sub-region, its constraints, and solutions to the problems.
Resource curse, globalization and conflicts (chapter 15)
"Previously entitled: Managing Conditional Trust – The Resource Curse and the Factors Affecting Conflict (from resources and conflict to information and development) Conflict is a malady that afflicts societies and individuals with incommensurable pain and stress. Over the last few decades, there has been an increased interest in understanding the mechanisms of conflict as a way to engage in preventive policy initiatives. Within this context, this paper seeks to uncover the mechanisms associated with the initiation of conflict as identified in the literature. This is done through a review of contemporary academic writing associated with the term “resource curse” (which has been used to describe the failure of resource-rich countries to benefit from their natural wealth) and the “greed and grievance” model of conflict, significantly developed by the economist Paul Collier. The paper concludes by making an evaluation of the mechanisms identified, illustrating them on the possible dynamics of the initiation of intrastate conflict, a violent challenge to state power by one or more groups, normally referred to as civil war. The paper is divided into six parts, each corresponding to a category that groups related and relevant factors: the external environment, governance, economic factors, social factors, geography, and history. Based on this assessment, I conclude with a summary of factors that have been identified as the key contributors to conflict."
ECOWAS and Sub-Regional Integration in Africa: An Appraisal
Regional integration is viewed as a veritable means of leveraging comparative advantage within a common market for the purpose of promoting trade growth and development. It is the recognition of the inevitable role of trade to stimulate rapid socio-economic cum political development that spurs countries within West African sub-region to establish the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). In the last four decades of its existence, the community has been able to achieve remarkable progress in some areas. ECOWAS has remained united, even though it has been reduced from sixteen to fifteen members with the exit of Mauritania. Nevertheless, the organization can pride itself as the largest regional grouping in Africa. It has also demonstrated a measure of effectiveness in matters of security and conflict resolution by the establishment of ECOMOG and only recently, ECOWAS leaders also called for synergized actions against Boko Haram by accepting the establishment of the Multinational Joint Task Force as well as the commitment demonstrated by Benin, Cameroon, Niger, Nigeria and Chad in the fight against the terrorist group. The methodology adopted for the study is qualitative. Therefore, the main thrust of the paper is to examine such areas that are beneficial to members of the community. Of particular importance are issues of trade, technology, investment, and free flow of ideas and movement of persons within the sub-Region that permit the congruence of a large single market which make possible comparative advantage and economics of scale. ECOWAS has not really progressed beyond resolution and treaties in these areas. As a result, the community has to battle with the exiguous internal market and the fact that all the countries of the community are almost producing the same product. The community’s problems are worsened by globalization which it has to contend with and giving the fact that the economies of majority of members are fragile and incapable of competing with more sophisticated products brought in by the liberalization of the market, and so the paper further to assesses the benefits accruing to these countries from trade direction, and development-based infrastructures such as energy,communication, industries among others in the face of their dependent posture in the globalized world
2012
This document is submitted for DISCUSSION under item 7 of the Draft Annotated DAC Agenda [DCD/DAC/A(2012)/11]. A synthesis report brings together key findings for consultation. Please note it is only available in pdf format. As part of its PWB 2011-2012, the DAC International Network on Conflict and Fragility (INCAF) initiated a research project on " global factors influencing the risk of conflict and fragility ". Global factors are defined as licit and/or illicit processes operating at the international, regional or cross-border level that influence the risk of fragility and conflict domestically. Examples include transnational organised crime, liberalisation measures and migration. The aim of this project is to: a) better understand global influences on fragility that have developed on the back of the process of globalisation; and, b) identify and initiate a few high impact actions that can help confront such factors from a development perspective. Key questions for the ...
Globalisation and the integration of West African states
African Journal of International Affairs and Development , 2001
As technological advances reduced the barriers among nations, the world progressively moved towards global integration. This trend had been underway over the past five centuries but gained further momentum in the 1990s with the phenomenom dubbed globalisation. Globalisation seeks to rapidly integrate world economies "through trade, financial flows, technological spillovers, information networks (and ~ross cultural currents. " Given the lop-sidedness with which \ 'African states had been integrated into the international capitalist system after independence, they evolved regional/economic groupings where the attendant division of labour will strengthen them for competition within the system (Rodney, 1972: 7). National governments are the building blocks of these regional blocs. But globalisation now threatens the collective aspirations and prospects of these regional groups such as the ECOWAS since globalisation erodes the powers of national governments and subjects nations to market forces overseen by Western dominated organisations like the IMF, World Bank, etc. What would happen to such regional groups when member nations seek to embrace globalisation on individual basis? But should this senerio exclude ECOWAS States from the globalisation journey? Is the problem with globalisation per se? How should ECOWAS members embrace globalisation?