Geopolitical Discourse, Global Actors and the Spatial Construction of African Union

Abstract

The development of a discursive formation since 1994 known as the 'African Renaissance' is linked to a new politico-territorial arrangement (African Union) and a continent-wide reconstruction plan (the New Partnership for African Development). A neo-realist analysis is used to explain the contingent relations between agency and discourse in constructing this alternative geopolitical space. This explanation leads to a practical consideration of the role of global actors in constructing a spatially integrated African Union. All documents pertaining to African Union and its reconstruction plan describe its achievement through the integration of six or seven regional economic communities. This is explained as a mammoth geopolitical task that requires both global and local partnerships and a comprehensive spatial strategy that appropriately addresses three scales of integration.