Africa and the dilemma of transformation: exploring trade for the realisation of the right to development

Abstract

Despite recent changes, many countries in Africa remain trapped in economic challenges such as the high level of poverty, unemployment and inequality. Scholars have linked the economic problems in Africa to several factors such as the colonial origin of the state, the nature and the character of the state, lack of good governance and the lack of structural transformation in the economies. The structural composition of trade in post-independent Africa has not departed significantly from the colonial structure. Most exports are still dominated by primary products and the direction of trade is mainly towards the West and increasingly Asia. Apart from the domestic challenges that continue to hamper the prospects of exploring the potentials of trade for development, there are global rules that affect the realisation of these potentials. This paper will argue that trade holds a great potential for realising the right to development (RTD). However, to achieve this, there are both domestic and global rules that need to be changed. Using the European Union and African, Caribbean and Pacific (EU-ACP) Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) as points of inquiry, this paper establishes the overarching influence that trade agreements have in determining the extent to which trade can facilitate the RTD in Africa.