Regional Integration and Conflict Management in Africa

Abstract

This research is a critique of the regional integration attempts at conflict management in Africa. The drive towards the establishment of an African peace and security mechanism has become a common topic of discourse in political, security, and academic circles. If Europe needs integration for strength and prosperity, Africa needs it for survival. There is need for a rethink on the African regional integration. Commitments to African regional integration have been constrained by a highly ambivalent critique of the colonial heritage of sovereignty, and unwilling to transfer any of such freedom to supra-national bodies (Zartman, 1995). Yet this has the potentials of enhancing their ability to plan, coordinate and evaluate the implementation of collective projects and programs. This research opine that to be successful, African regional and sub regional integrations need to embrace the concepts of good governance, sound civil-military relations and commitment to democracy and human rights, rather than just on military components of security cooperation.