Regional Political Economic Relations: The Ecowas and the Development of West Africa

Abstract

At various levels of the evolution of societies, attempts are often made to apply one or all of Talcot Parsons Pattern Variables AGIL acronym (Adaptive, Goal Attainment, Integrative and Latency Sub System) approach in tackling the problems arising in their environment. For ECOWAS, established in 1975, as a regional socio-economic formation in the West Coast of Africa, attempts have been put up by The Authority to fulfill certain development aspirations. This, then, serves as the anchorage of this paper; in taking a close look at the role ECOWAS plays in transforming the subregion in the context of international development. The paper establishes that ECOWAS is fast moving towards realizing the dreams of its founding fathers within the frame of development. Development in this context is conceived in the commonplace social science parlance of orderly social change from pre-colonial primitive and primordial mode of production to attempts towards pulling resources for the greater good of the greatest number in the spirit of the utilitarian theorists. The Post-colonial state within the Sub-region is such that demands multi- disciplinary and multi-dimensional approach to the solution of the dynamics of underdevelopment besetting the region. And ECOWAS serves a useful springboard.