Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)

Abstract

This chapter examines ECOWAS, the Economic Community of West African States, established long (or, more precisely, six years before) the OAU began a gradual ideological move from advocating for political liberation to economic (and wholesome) liberation for Africa. ECOWAS was fronted by Nigeria and Ghana, two island Anglophone nations in an ocean dominated by former French colonies. The latter already had a tradition of cooperation, albeit under the French-designed French West Africa (Afrique-Occidentale française, AOF), formed in 1895. The chapter reflects on the challenges experienced by ECOWAS throughout its existence, especially strong national leaders and parochial differences (Anglophone vs. Francophone orientations) including a tiff over the common currency, Eco, as well as membership to two monetary unions: West Africa Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU), comprising of Francophone countries that use the West African CFA franc and the West African Monetary Zone (WAMZ) for Anglophone countries, and the challenges of forming the unified, single currency monetary union. It discusses the bloc’s ‘monitoring group’ (which served as the military arm of ECOWAS), the Economic Community of West African States Monitoring Group (ECOMOG) and its several deployments in countries such as Liberia and Sierra Leone. ECOWAS’s pre-REC data on the three variables was inconclusive since it only covers 5 years of non-REC period. However, qualitative case studies, e.g., ECOMOG’s near-deployment in Gambia’s 2016 ‘contested’ election, show that collective regional actions can induce individuals, leaders and nations to change course. However, the actions of France in Mali and Ivory Coast demonstrate that despite ECOWAS’ capacities, achieving regional peace and security can be a daunting task.