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Securitisation of Cooperative Framework Agreement (CFA) and Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD): Dialectical Positions between Upstream and Downstream Riparian Countries
Embiale Beyene 5
This paper explained the water securitisation rifts over Cooperative Framework Agreement (CFA hereafter) and Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD hereafter) between upstream and downstream riparian countries of Eastern Nile Basin (ENB hereafter). The research approach is a qualitative one. The study used published and unpublished secondary and primary data sources, and thematic data analysis was applied. The paper found that both CFA and GERD are being securitised by both upstream and downstream countries. Egypt and Sudan claim that it is a security issue to let upstream use a drop of water from the shared resources (thesis). Conversely, Ethiopia claims that it is an issue of sovereignty, equitable right, survival and security to develop and use the resource (anti-thesis). These static and uncompromising positions have created deadlock on both the CFA and GERD and undermine the sustainable development, use and protection of the shared resource. As synthesis, this study believes that the lasting solution is founded on denationalising, de-securitising and regionalising the CFA, GERD and the Nile water.
Migration has become a key feature of Africa’s global relations order. Africa is considered a mobile continent, given its past and recent history of population movement and contemporary emphasis on migration. However, as regards migration, the past readings of African population movements have often placed the continent within the prism of disadvantaged regions with an emphasis on brain drain. However, given the emerging global growth and development patterns, these past readings have been dismissed with new readings of migration and development mantras. As part of these new readings, the African Union (AU) recognised the diaspora as Africa’s sixth region, making the diaspora population an important partner and potential solution to the crisis of underdevelopment. Using a qualitative research methodology which relies on secondary data drawn from books, peer-reviewed journals, European Union Global Diaspora Facility (EDiF), diaspora mapping exercise and the AU reports, this article focused on interrogating the outcomes of this seismic shift in thinking and practice which recognised the Africans in diaspora as important partners that must be engaged in Africa’s development. The article found out that since the implementation of the AU Diaspora sixth zone, there has been massive initiation and strengthening of African countries' diaspora-homeland relationships through policies, programmes and established diaspora institutions designed to court, harness and leverage the potentials of their diaspora. Hence, in interrogating the AU’s context, current practices and contours of diaspora engagement, the article concluded that, in the 20-year existence of the AU, the diaspora engagement policy remains one of the fundamental and innovative development ideas towards building the African continent.
As Africa continues to pursue its regional integration agenda as a strategy for boosting inter-state cooperation across the various sectors and overcoming the barriers to free movement of goods, services, labour, and capital in order to ultimately stir economic growth and spur sustainable economic development as envisioned in Agenda 2063, the role of infrastructure in physically and virtually integrating the continent increasingly remains critical. With the advent of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), under which trade began in January 2021, the urgency, pre-eminence, eminence, and need for cross-sectoral infrastructure development and modernisation at national, regional, and continental levels have become key as a success factor for the AfCFTA, intra-African trade, and free movement of labour and capital across the continent. The eight African regional economic communities (RECs) recognised by the African Union (that is, AMU, COMESA, CEN-SAD, EAC, ECCAS, ECOWAS, IGAD, and SADC) have been executing several regional infrastructure plans, policies, programmes, and projects, while at the continental level, the African Union – in collaboration with various partners and stakeholders – has also been coordinating the implementation of various cross-regional and cross-continental infrastructure projects. Empirically establishing progress made by African states, RECs, and the AU towards infrastructure integration is fundamental to appreciating the infrastructure development performance at national and regional levels so as to identify successes, challenges, and valuable lessons as Africa pursues its regional integration agenda. This paper sought to assess progress made towards infrastructure integration in African RECs. Further, traditional and emerging challenges affecting the design, implementation, and operationalisation of infrastructure integration projects were also identified, and future prospects for African regional infrastructure integration were analysed. The concepts of regional infrastructure development and integration constitute the conceptual frames of analysis, while data from the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA)’s Africa Regional Integration Index (ARII) was utilised for progress evaluation and inter-REC comparative analysis. Findings from the study are fundamental in shaping recommendations that are meant to improve and enhance the physical and virtual integration of RECs and the continent through the delivery of infrastructure integration projects.
Arguably, the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) played a colossal role in the representation of national liberation movements at the United Nations (UN). The movements’ representation in the UN is a significant pointer because it gave legitimacy to the liberation struggle against racism and colonialism in Africa; provided independent African states with machinery to supply the liberation movements with material and other assistance needed to wage their armed struggles; set in motion a unified African policy toward colonial and settler regimes in Africa; and enabled the regional body to solicit foreign support for the liberation efforts in southern Africa. An appropriate starting point for comprehending the OAU's role in the representation of the national liberation movements at the UN is examining the regional body's decisions on recognition of the movements. An analysis of these decisions is critical because they suggest diplomatic action against colonial powers in Africa. In addition, they suggested appropriate action by the UN and the severance of diplomatic relations. It is also a significant pointer because it reflected developments in the new international legal order of the last half of the twentieth century, in which the right of self-determination had become entrenched in the Jus cogens, the basic, fundamental, imperative, or overriding rules of international law, peremptory norms that could not be set aside by treaty or acquiescence but only by the formation of a subsequent norm of contrary effect; and legitimized the move by the UN General Assembly (GA) to secure greater information regarding developments in particular territories, thereby implicitly acknowledging a kind of superior status in respect of the national liberation movements in African territories.
The nobility of the objectives and aspirations of Agenda 2063 for the developmental needs of the African people is laudable. However, these aspirations towards Africa’s development may be negated and threatened due to the various insecurity issues going on within the continent, such as an upsurge in radical Islamism, xenophobia, violence threatening national sovereignty, local insurgencies, and similar issues. While Agenda 2063 does not explicitly address the insecurity issues going on within the continent, they have become a core concern at the governmental and regional levels. Against this backdrop, this paper highlights the contribution of Agenda 2063 towards Africa’s development while examining the inherent contradiction in its aspirations with a specific focus on Aspiration 4: “a peaceful and secure Africa”. The study draws from desk-based research and document analysis of studies related to Agenda 2063 and Africa’s development. It argues that Agenda 2063 should step up its efforts to combat the security issues going on in the continent, as it is a major threat to both development and the actualisation of Agenda 2063. Ultimately, the study proposes a recommendation for an equitable and secure Africa.
In extant international studies scholarship, indications are replete that insecurity is one of the greatest problems confronting many African states today. The illicit importation of arms into the continent and its consequent proliferation worsens the already precarious situation. With such proliferation of arms, comes its abuse particularly in posing serious challenges to the maintenance of security amongst African states and the increased difficulty in combating crime. It is therefore necessary to investigate into how trade and proliferation of small arms and light weapons have contributed to conflicts, if not anarchy in Africa, in recent years. To this end, the availability of small arms and light weapons in the hands of criminals, ethno-religious militants and insurgents, has proven to be an enormous challenge to both the African and global security architecture, thus precipitating the setting up of the United Nations Arms Trade Treaty to address it. Therefore, relying on applied research method, this study examines the relationship between the United Nations Arms Trade Treaty and insecurity in Africa. It has been found that the lofty ideal of the Arms Trade Treaty is yet to be matched with commensurate security of the continent, possibly due to lack of political will for its implementation. Moreover, since the treaty focuses on sales of arms, the African security problem may remain unresolved as it neither halts the proliferation of Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW) nor punishes its abuse.
Industrialisation is vital for developing countries’ quest for sustainable growth, development, and transformation. This article examines the SADC region’s stated objective of industrialisation and regional integration as an approach towards achieving industrialisation. This is done through an analysis of manufacturing activities as a measure of industrialisation, in relation to regional integration to determine the significance of manufacturing to the development of member states of the SADC. It examines the increase or decrease in the region’s manufacturing sector and its significance to economic growth for the period 2000-2015. The article is not concerned with SADC’s advancement vis-à-vis the stated sequential integration milestones. Instead, it focuses on claims that manufacturing is significant for integration and a significant contributor to economic growth. It also uses a mixed-methods design based on secondary sources and an examination of qualitative and quantitative data in an attempt to understand the transformative impact of regional integration on industrialisation. The latter has been consistently noted as the key driver of sustainable growth, development, and transformation, even more so for developing countries. Forward and backward linkages in the manufacturing sector and economies of scale give it a slight edge over other sectors insofar as contributions to development are concerned. This article argues that contrary to the expectation that regional integration in the SADC would lead to industrialisation, the economies in the region have rather experienced deindustrialisation.
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) is one of Africa’s most important institutions and has been involved in peacekeeping operations, the fight for women empowerment and the enforcement of democracy, among others. While academic research on the role and functioning of ECOWAS has increased over the years, it remains far behind those of other international alliances. Therefore, this research sought to empirically examine the content, performance, quality and quantity of ECOWAS articles in reputable publications. To achieve this, data were retrieved from the Scopus Scientific database, and the data were subjected to a comprehensive bibliometric assessment, using the VOSviewer software and the manual elaboration and calculations. The analyses include co-occurrence, text, co-citation, bibliographic coupling, country collaboration and leading publications/authors, among others. The study revealed an increasing trend towards economic, energy and sustainability-related themes, and a shift towards applied and quantitative approaches. This article provides an important resource for scholars on ECOWAS, and provides an empirical basis for future studies on the bloc.
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