Regional Integration and the Ethic of Co-operation in Post-colonial Africa

Abstract

This chapter discusses regional integration and the discourse of the ethic of co-operation in post-colonial Africa as a mechanism aimed at poverty alleviation. The presumption among African politicians was that poverty can be dealt with effectively on the basis of regional integration where nations commit themselves to regional co-operation with the aim of promoting economic policies for poverty alleviation. Prior to the regional integration political discourse, other African politicians such as Kwame Nkrumah were of the view that post-colonial African states should sacrifice their sovereignty for the greater good of African unity. It was argued that African unity will bring about real economic and political independence in a way that will assist post-colonial Africa to counter forces of neo-colonialism. For Nkrumah African continental unity was possible because Africans share the same moral values and a common political experience of oppression under colonialism. Julius Nyerere was sceptical about the practicality of African union. He argued that continental integration is not feasible because of the absence of a common political authority. Even regional integration was a vision that was difficult to achieve because political leaders of different countries in the region were primarily accountable to their respective countries for tackling the problem of poverty. National interest remained an impediment to the realization of the vision of continental unity as well as regional integration. Whilst the African ethical tradition is based on the values of human common belonging, the phenomenon of Afro-phobic violence militates against the vision of regional integration.