Prospects for Regional Integration in Africa – A Comparative Perspective

The African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) is the current initiative to form the world’s largest free-trade zone in terms of number of countries. It appears to follow the European integration path. This planned edited book with chapter contributions from scholars in Africa, Europe and Asia challenges the underlying assumption that the European model is a role model for African attempts to intra-continentally integrate further. It adopts a multidisciplinary approach to better understand the commonalities and differences between an African and other continents’ perspective on integration. The book comprises three parts. The first part examines the state of intra-African cooperation. It discusses the different approaches to regional integration in Africa, the political economy dimensions and obstacles, challenges and achievements. The second part will critically analyse the more than sixty years of European integration from an African perspective. In addition, the experiences of regional integration in Asia and Latin America will be examined to understand whether they provide answers to questions about future African economic integration. The third part draws on the lessons from other continents’ integration efforts and the experience of African integration efforts to make proposals for the future direction of African integration.