African Agency in International Relations

Abstract

This chapter contends that the agency shown by African states in the conduct of their international relations in the domains of economics and security undermines the balance of power assumption that weak states will always bandwagon with hegemonic states. The Cotton Initiative is one example of how states considered by structural approaches as weak and subordinate, contest and constructed World Trade Organization (WTO) processes. The chapter illustrates that the actions of African states allows for theoretical interventions in international relations theory that should take into consideration the primacy of state action as a determinant of Africa's international relations. It shows how, through the use of agency in international relations, African state action lays bare the claim that African states on the continent make the study of Africa in international relations redundant. It posits that neo-realists preoccupation with sovereignty and state-centrism does not lend scope or provide guidance that can account for the agency shown by African states in international relations.