New regionalism as an approach to cooperation in Africa : with reference to the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD)

Abstract

For many decades, regionalism was considered a potential solution to the different crises faced by the African continent. So-called old regionalism, as implemented between the 1960s and late 1980s, yielded limited success in addressing the multidimensional challenges on the continent, resulting in a re-evaluation of Africa’s approach to continental cooperation and integration, with a view to continental development. With new trends emerging in international relations following the end of the Cold War, new regionalism was introduced as an innovative way to deal with relations between regional partners. With the launch of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), Africa officially declared its endorsement of new regionalism. This study assesses the potential of NEPAD to deal with the numerous developmental challenges facing Africa. It explores how new regionalism could contribute to the resolution of a range of crises and challenges on the continent. The study focuses on Africa’s past regionalist experience, the role of new regionalism in addressing Africa’s trade and investment dilemma, as well as its role in promoting good governance and peace in Africa. The study concludes that notwithstanding the positive contribution of new regionalism, especially through its multidimensional approach, NEPAD will face tremendous challenges, mostly due to the failure of new regionalism in acknowledging the influence of other operational contexts – international and domestic – on the success of regionalist ventures.