IAO-ZEI Papier No. 27 : Le Processus d'Intégration Régionale en Afrique Centrale : État des Lieux et Défis (original) (raw)

Regionalism in Africa has undergone various changes. First, it was marked by the fervor of the independence period, accompanied by a Pan-Africanist discourse and the creation of the Organization of African Unity (OAU). The downturn in the 1970s, caused by multiple crises and divergent approaches among African leaders, was followed by a new regionalist impulse in the 1990s. Within the African regional integration context, Central Africa occupies a special position. The region provides the physical link between the African integration spaces and is endowed with major resource deposits, containing therefore a high economic development potential. The WAI-ZEI Paper at hand sheds light on the dynamics of regional integration in Central Africa, by portraying the two communities that co-exist in the region: the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) and the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC). Against this background, challenges for a deepened and successful integration process are discussed.