Community Of West African States Research Articles

An Appraisal of the Historical Development of the African Response to Extradition

The research work delves into the evolution of African countries' approach to extradition over the course of history. Extradition, the legal process of surrendering individuals accused of crimes to another jurisdiction, has undergone significant changes in Africa, influenced by regional cooperation efforts. The study provides an in-depth examination of the significant events in the development of extradition laws across the African continent. The impacts of World War II on extradition is also scrutinized, highlighting how political motivations sometimes influenced extradition decisions, leading to contentious cases and strained international relations. Additionally, the study examines how regional organisations such as the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the South African Development Commission (SADC), and also how African Union (A.U) in general work to promote integration and cooperation within the region on legal issues, including extradition. The work further analyses recent efforts to modernize extradition laws in some African countries, aligning them with international standards and practices. This has been facilitated by increased cooperation with international organizations, enhancing legal and operational capacities in extradition matters. This research study extensively analyses the historical development of the African response to extradition in Africa. It sheds light on the evolving approaches, challenges, and regional cooperation efforts concerning extradition practices on the continent. The findings contribute to a deeper understanding of how extradition has shaped and been shaped by Africa's legal, political, and social landscape throughout history. Keywords: AU, ECOWAS, Extradition, Cooperation, Crimes, SADC.

Foreign direct investment and carbon emissions in ECOWAS: does good governance matter?

PurposeThe present study investigates the effect of foreign direct investment (FDI) and governance quality on carbon emissions in the Economics Community of West African States (ECOWAS).Design/methodology/approachTo achieve the objective of this research, panel data for dependent and explanatory variables over the period 2005–2016, collected in the World Development Indicators (WDI) database and World Governance Indicators (WGI), are analyzed using the generalized method of moments (GMM). Also, the panel-corrected standard errors (PCSE) method is applied to the four segments of the overall sample to analyze the stability of the results.FindingsThe findings of this study are (1) FDI inflows have a negative effect on carbon emissions in ECOWAS and (2) The interaction between FDI inflows and governance quality have a negative effect on carbon emissions. These results show the decreasing of environmental damage by increasing institutional quality. However, the estimation results on the country subsamples show similar and non-similar aspects.Practical implicationsThis study suggests that policymakers in the ECOWAS countries should strengthen their environmental policies while encouraging FDI flows to be environmentally friendly.Originality/valueThe subject has rarely been explored in West Africa, with gaps such as the lack of use of institutional variables. This study contributes to the literature by drawing on previous work to examine the role of good governance on FDI and the CO2 emission relationship in the ECOWAS, which have received little attention. However, this research differs from previous work by subdividing the overall sample into four groups to test the stability of the results.

ASEAN versus ECOWAS: Sovereignty Construction and Its Impact on Governance and Institutional Structures

ABSTRACT The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) are prominent regional organisations in the global South. However, their divergence becomes evident when considering variations in governance and institutional structures. This article attributes these differences to distinct approaches to national sovereignty by their members. Factors including historical colonial legacies, member states’ experiences, and shared norms shape the construction of sovereignty in ASEAN and ECOWAS. ASEAN prioritises individual sovereignty and self-determination. In contrast, ECOWAS adopts a more flexible approach, emphasising collective action to address common challenges, even if it involves compromising some aspects of sovereignty. These trajectories continue with ASEAN Charter and ECOWAS Revised Treaty that transformed the organisation into a parliamentary structure with Court of Justice. By examining these dynamics, this paper sheds light on the nuanced relationship between sovereignty and regional integration, providing insights into governance and decision-making processes in ASEAN and ECOWAS.

ECOWAS Court of Justice: its linkage with the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights

This article considers the Community Court of Justice (CCJ) of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and its linkage with the African Charter of Human and People’s Rights (ACHPR). No doubt when ECOWAS was established in 1975, the main objective was the economic integration of the sub-regional body. At the beginning, the CCJ was listed as one of the mandates of the economic bloc, but it was not until 1991 that the first Protocol which created the CCJ and which gives its composition and its functioning was adopted. The Revised Treaty of 1993 also provided for the establishment of the CCJ in its Article 15. The Protocol now makes references to the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights (ACHPR) of the African Union (AU). Not only this, the Protocol also made reference to other international human rights instruments. The main objective of this work is to bring to fore that the jurisdiction of the CCJ is expansive and broad, and that the CCJ failed to utilise the expansive jurisdiction in the matter of the late President of Chad, Hissene Habre, against the Republic of Senegal, by ruling that the Senegalese court could not try him because this will violate the principle of non-retroactivity of penal law. This ruling led to the establishment of the Extraordinary African Chambers (a special criminal tribunal) that later tried Habre. Also, where it is appropriate and desirable, a comparison between, on the one hand, the CCJ and, on the other hand, African sub-regional courts and courts of international organisations will be made. It is also the contention of this article that the CCJ ought to have an Appeal Chambers, as a core international best practice. This work will adopt the doctrinal methodology and the data collection method is content analysis.

The role of economic growth, financial development, globalization, renewable energy and industrialization in reducing environmental degradation in the economic community of West African States

The role of economic growth, financial development, globalization, renewable energy and industrialization in reducing environmental degradation in the economic community of West African States

Trade openness, poverty, and sustainable development: Testing for causality using Dumitrescu-Hurlin approach

Purpose — This research paper explores the causal links between trade openness, poverty, and sustainable development, shedding light on the potential impact of trade policies on poverty reduction and sustainable development in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) region.Method — We utilize the Dumitrescu-Hurlin (DH) panel causality test, a robust econometric approach capable of discerning the direction and magnitude of causal relationships among variables. We employ a comprehensive dataset spanning from 1986 to 2020, covering ECOWAS countries, to conduct a rigorous empirical analysis.Result — The empirical findings from the DH causality analysis reveal a unidirectional relationship between trade openness, human capital investment, and both sustainable development and poverty. Additionally, bidirectional causality relationships are observed between human capital investment and poverty. The results also highlight the absence of a consistent and uniform pattern of Granger causality between poverty and sustainability across individual West African economies. This heterogeneity underscores the need for customized policy approaches based on empirical evidence derived from country-specific causality analyses, rather than adopting one-size-fits-all solutions.Novelty — This research stands out by exploring the causal connections among trade openness, poverty, and sustainable development within the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) region. The adoption of the Dumitrescu-Hurlin (DH) panel causality test enhances the empirical analysis, offering a comprehensive understanding of both the direction and magnitude of these relationships.

Exploring Communities of Practice from an Informality Perspective: Insights from the AU, ECOWAS, and UN in West African Mediation Theaters

Abstract The article explores how and why communities of practice (CoPs) of international organizations (IOs) work together effectively despite the rigid formal bureaucratic and institutional borders they inhabit. The manuscript explains how four informal mechanisms combined to enable CoPs embedded in the African Union (AU), the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), and the United Nations (UN) Organization to resolve political crises in Burkina Faso, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Mali, and Togo between 2016 and 2022. The informal mechanisms allowed CoPs to overcome their institutional limitations, cross rigid organizational borders, and work together to resolve different political crises in the six countries. Some of the informal mechanisms were cultivated by CoPs, while others emerged organically from activities and interactions of these like-minded professionals. The informal instruments that were developed and used to resolve the crises provide a telling illustration of how CoPs create global governance norms, practices, processes, rules, and structures from below. The enabling role that informality played in the six conflict theaters suggests that paying close attention to the informal dimensions of CoPs has enormous analytical benefits.

Nigeria’s Role in the Promotion of Peace and Security in the Gulf of Guinea through Multilateral Cooperation 2001-2022

his work examines Nigeria’s role in promoting peace and security in the Gulf of Guinea region. The regional security theory (RST), which highlights the link of interdependent relationships among states within a region, serves as the theoretical framework of the study. The objective of the research is to evaluate Nigeria’s contributions to peace and security through multilateral cooperation in the Gulf of Guinea region.The study utilizessecondary data from credible sources such as official reports, policy documents, books, diplomatic records, magazines, Newspapers, internet sources, and academic literature.Documentary evidence was used to analyze the data obtained. The data collection process follows specific criteria for relevance, reliability, and credibility.The findings reveal that Nigeria to promote peace and security in the Gulf Region, actively engages in multilateral initiatives and collaborations, such as those within the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) since its establishment in 1975, the Yaoundé Architecture since 2013, and the Gulf of Guinea Commission (GGC) since 2001. In addition, to promote peace and security Nigeria participates in joint patrols, intelligence sharing, capacity building, and collaborative efforts to address maritime security challenges. The study highlights the importance of international cooperation and partnerships in supporting Nigeria’s efforts. Consequently, the work emphasizes the significance of fostering closer collaboration among the Gulf of Guinea countries to enhance maritime security in the area. Collaboration with shipping companies, naval industry stakeholders, and port authorities is essential for sharing information, implementing best practices, and developing joint initiatives to improve security measures and promote a safe operating environment. While progress has been made, the work underscores challenges related to limited resources, capacity gaps, and memberstates coordination. It emphasizes the need for sustained commitment, cooperation, and investment in capacity building and technology to address peace and security challenges in the Gulf of Guinea. The work suggests further research to explore the effectiveness of multilateral initiatives, Nigeria’s domestic factors, non-traditional security threats, regional dynamics and cooperation, and gender and inclusivity considerations in Nigeria’s promotion of peace and security in the Gulf of Guinea.

Problems of legal regulation of bilateral investment agreements in the economic community of west african states (ECOWAS)

In the context of Russia’s implementation of a renewed foreign policy, in which new legal concepts like friendly and unfriendly states have emerged, special emphasis has been placed on the development of relations with African countries. Despite active attempts by Western countries to influence our country’s relations with African partners, most countries on the continent have not changed their attitude towards Russia and continue to show considerable interest in strengthening bilateral relations, including in the area of investment with Russia. The outcome of the 2019 Russia–Africa summit showed a high level of trust and expectations of African leaders from Russia. These circumstances should give a significant impetus to the active development by of the Russian Federation of equitable and effective trade relations with African countries, which is impossible without a detailed analysis of the legal framework of the ECOWAS states governing foreign investment.

ECOWAS and the challenge of preventing a resurgence of coups d’état in West Africa: An assessment of the ‘Zero Tolerance’ policy

ABSTRACT Since the adoption of the Abuja Declaration of Political Principles (1991) and the Supplementary Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance (2001) by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the regional organisation has declared ‘zero tolerance’ for unconstitutional changes of government, particularly military coups d’état. Despite these declarations, West Africa has continued to experience coups, with a resurgence in the number of these since 2020. This article examines ECOWAS' structures and strategies designed to work against such a resurgence of coups in the region. The article demonstrates that ECOWAS has advanced both diplomatic and non-diplomatic measures to respond to the phenomenon. However, while the regional body has appeared proactive in responding to the coups, it has appeared to have little success thus far; a mix of domestic, regional and international geopolitical factors – which the regional body has failed to address – continues to undermine political stability in the region.

Evaluating the Effectiveness of the ECOWAS Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance in Preventing the Resurgence of Military Coups in West Africa

Many African countries underwent a shift from military to civilian leadership in the 1990s in response to calls for democratic changes from both domestic and international arenas. Unfortunately, the military dictatorship has made a comeback in Africa with a stunning surge of new military coups that have succeeded, along with several failed or abandoned attempts. Six (6) successful coups in the West African sub-region between 2012 and 2023 have complicated attempts to shed the region’s image as a “coup belt.” This research is primarily qualitative. For this research, the researcher used the qualitative research method by reviewing books, articles, and online interviews. This study aims to examine and challenge the ideas, theories, and policies that the Economic Community of West Africa (ECOWAS) has implemented to thwart the rise in military takeovers in the region. The research also covers the military’s functions and how military action affects civil society. Considering the reasons, which include diminishing optimism, growing levels of insecurity, falling economies, and persistently low performance in human development, the research study concludes with these findings. The Economic Community of West African States and other relevant stakeholders that are interested in reducing military coups should invest more in finance. Rather than trying to employ coercive tactics to end the ongoing military coups in West Africa. In the same vein, they should also focus on resolving the root causes of conflicts and investing in local communities, rather than sacrificing them for hidden geo-strategic interests or agendas.

Banking sector development and environmental degradation in the Economic Community of West African States: do technology effects matter?

This paper contributes to the discussion on environmental degradation by exploring the connection between banking sector development and environmental degradation in the ECOWAS. In addition, we investigate the direction of causation between environmental degradation and its drivers and the technological effect of banking sector development on environmental degradation. We rely on a balanced panel dataset of 11 ECOWAS nations from 1990 to 2019. We present the following conclusions using the AMG estimator and the Driscoll–Kraay panel regression model. First, banking sector development reduces environmental degradation. Second, banking sector development has a deleterious technological effect on environmental quality. Thirdly, population and affluence were found to significantly promote environmental degradation, while the impact of technology was inconclusive. We further demonstrate a unidirectional causation association between the development of the banking sector and environmental degradation using the Dumitrescu and Hurlin causality analysis. Based on the study conclusions, numerous policy ramifications have been suggested for the ECOWAS nations to mitigate environmental degradation.

Piracy in the Gulf of Guinea and the Role of African Regional Organisations in Ensuring Security of Maritime Shipping

The first decade of the XXI century witnessed a rise in piracy in some regions of the world, including the Gulf of Guinea. The purposes of this article are to find out historical reasons of the emergence of piracy in off the West coast of Africa and to analyse the participation of African regional organisations in the struggle for ensuring security of maritime shipping in the Gulf of Guinea. The initial surge in incidence of attacks against merchant ships was caused by anti-governmental groups, which adopted pirate tactics. Later, piracy off the shores of Central and West Africa turned into a profitable type of organised crime. Pirates of the Gulf of Guinea inflicted significant damage to economic development of the countries of the region and began to pose a threat to shipping off the West African shore of the Atlantic. The article describes how interregional cooperation with external partnership was organised to counter transborder nature of pirate activities. Based on regional organisations, specifically, the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the maritime security summit held on June 24–25, 2013 in Yaoundé adopted the Code of Conduct, which contained a list of measures to combat piracy. The Code of Conduct envisaged close cooperation among the nations of Central and West Africa with help of “external” partners in order to ensure rapid reaction to counter pirate attacks. Research of the problem indicates that only consecutive realisation of these measures allowed to reach a tangible result almost 10 years later, namely, in 2022. Nevertheless, if control over waters of the Gulf of Guinea is weakened, piracy may resurge, because its social and economic roots still exist.

AN ASSESSMENT OF THE IMPACT OF BORDER CLOSURE BY THE NIGERIA GOVERNMENT ON REGIONAL INTEGRATION IN THE WEST AFRICA REGION

Abstract
 Nigeria is the acclaimed giant of Africa in specific ramifications. The country is bordered by four African countries namely Cameroon, Chad, Benin, and Niger, and emphatically the hub-nub of economic survival of many African nations such as Togo and Ghana. However, Nigeria’s government recently announced the closure of its borders with these neighboring countries albeit, temporarily, and cited illegal importation of goods and services from these countries which has a consequential damaging effect on her economy. This paper interrogates the reasons and consequences of Nigeria’s Government’s action on border relations with neighboring countries. Adopting the descriptive design method, the research work relied heavily on secondary sources of data collection. Proximate stakeholders such as importers and exporters, Nigerian farmers, and relevant government agencies on border control were also interacted with. Using protectionist theory to analyze trends of actions, the theory argues that protectionist trade policies will always lead to an improved economic result. Findings reveal that despite short-run socio-political and economic gains, protectionism negates the principle of globalization and free trade principles which both the Economic Community of West African States(ECOWAS) and Africa Union(AU) promote among its member states including Nigeria that are signatories to the free trade protocols. The paper recommends among others, that the Nigeria Government should address her internal challenges within its border security apparatus to avert the double jeopardy of violating border relations principles and creating a trade war with her neighbors

Correlations of structural shocks, dynamic responses of output and inflation to commodities price shocks and monetary union in WAMZ

PurposeThis paper examines correlations of the underlying structural shocks and the degree of synchronization in the impulse responses of output, inflation and trade to a one standard deviation shock to non-oil commodities price index and exchange rates within the West African Monetary Zone (WAMZ) countries from 1990q1 to 2020q1.Design/methodology/approachThis paper uses the structural vector autoregressive model to isolate the underlying structural shocks and compares them with the West African Monetary Union (WAEMU) countries.FindingsFindings from the study suggest that correlations of underlying structural shocks are more profound in the WAEMU than in the WAMZ. Impulse responses of output to price and exchange rate shocks are more symmetric in the WAEMU than in the WAMZ. However, impulse responses of inflation to price and exchange rate shocks are symmetric in the WAMZ than in the WAEMU and responses of trade in both sub-groups are not uniform.Practical implicationsThe paper concludes that the WAMZ does not constitute an Optimum Currency Area concerning the correlations of the structural shocks and output. However, it has achieved convergence in inflation and there are adequate adjustment mechanisms to shocks in the WAMZ than in the WAEMU. Therefore, the WAMZ may not suffer from joining the monetary union. Thus, economic Community of West African States may take steps to roll out the monetary union.Originality/valueThe paper examines correlations of the underlying structural shocks, impulse responses of output and inflation to shocks to commodities price and exchange rates in the WAMZ and compares them with the WAEMU.

Trade–peace conundrum in Africa: The moderating effects of poverty and inequality

AbstractThis paper examines the trade–peace nexus in Africa and ascertains how poverty and inequality tilt the relationship in the eight regional (economic) blocs in Africa, viz. the Arab Maghreb Union (UMA), the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), the Community of Sahel–Saharan States (CEN–SAD), the East African Community (EAC), the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC), from 1998 to 2020 using the Driscoll–Kraay estimate. The study contributes to the literature by disaggregating the peace effect of trade in Africa by the regional (economic) blocs to allow for in‐depth and context‐specific analysis. The paper also expands the scope of existing studies by examining the direct effect of poverty and inequality on peace in addition to the indirect effect that is revealed through their interactions with trade integrations. The findings reveal that trade promotes peace in Africa, while wide income inequality and a large poverty gap increase the likelihood of conflict. The interaction of poverty and inequality with trade integration shows that while the poverty level does not improve the effect of trade on peace, inequality reduces the impact of trade on peace. The study concludes that poverty and inequality play significant roles in the trade–peace nexus in Africa. Policy recommendations are discussed.

The Moderating Effect of Institutions in Government Expenditures - Economic Development Nexus in ECOWAS Countries

The total effect of growing public spending on economic development is ambiguous, especially with today’s realities of exposure to international trade and domestic factor such as institutions. Hence, the objective of this study is to test the hypothesis that good institutions moderate the effect of large government size on economic development. The study employed secondary data covering the period 1986 to 2018 and Arellano and Bover’s Generalized Methods of Moments (GMM) panel estimation technique was used to achieve the study objective. Data on Gross Domestic Product per capita, government size, population growth rate, inflation rate, gross fixed capital formation, human development index (HDI) and financial development were sourced from World Development indicator database while data on institutions was obtained from International County Risk Guide database. The study found that the stated hypothesis is validated i.e good institutions mitigate any negative effect of large government size on economic development for Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). The study therefore, concluded that the relationship between government size and economic development depends on quality of institutions in ECOWAS countries. It is recommended that member countries should embrace democratic governance and build democratic institutions in order to promote government stability. More so, there is need to tightening up of existing public sector rules and regulations on corruption and the setting up of anti-corruption institutions to fight corruption and check corrupt behaviour in the ECOWAS countries.

Does Economic Policy Uncertainty Explain Exchange Rate Movements in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS): A Panel ARDL Approach

Research proposes that economic policy uncertainty (EPU) leads to exchange rate fluctuations. Given that African countries experience higher levels of uncertainty in developed/emerging markets, we examine the extent to which domestic and foreign EPU affect exchange rates for a panel of 12 ECOWAS countries covering the period 1996–2018. In order to account for non-stationarity, cross-sectional dependence, and heterogeneity, the paper employs the dynamic heterogeneous panel approach. The ECOWAS has a dual currency arrangement ranging from a common currency union (CFA) to floating exchange rates (Non-CFA). To account for this, this study splits the sample data into CFA and Non-CFA areas. In addition, this study considers the role of the global financial crisis in the exchange rate-EPU nexus. Our results show that domestic EPU has a positive effect on exchange rates in the long run for Non-CFA areas. Different from the existing literature, our results suggest that domestic EPU does not explain exchange rate fluctuations in the short run. For all countries, foreign EPU leads to appreciation in the long run and depreciation in the short run. Interestingly, foreign EPU has a more dominant effect on exchange rate fluctuations in the selected countries than domestic EPU. This may reflect the weak institutional framework in these countries, which allows external fluctuations to have a greater impact. Moreover, this could be attributed to the increase in foreign capital flows during the sample period. Thus, these countries must develop effective policies to effectively absorb these external shocks. Results are robust to different proxies of EPU.

Regional approaches to conflict prevention: The effectiveness of rhetorical and diplomatic tools

Research has shown that international actors can contribute to resolving violent conflicts. In this article, we focus on conflict prevention, and argue that tools that are relatively non-invasive and rapid to deploy are effective at preventing conflict from escalating. We identify two tools that meet these criteria—rhetorical and diplomatic action, and argue that regional organizations are particularly poised to deploy these tools successfully. Drawing upon new data, we find that rhetorical and diplomatic actions deployed by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) are generally associated with reductions in violent events as well as fatalities in the following month.

CO2 Emissions and Economic Growth in Some Selected Countries of Ecowas: Panel Data Approach

Abstract Climate change and its impact on economic growth or vice versa is an important burning issue in the present world and therefore the present world and its population, especially in West Africa, are bound to face various calamities in recent times and the excessive emission of carbon (1.8 per cent of total carbon emission by the world’s emission) is one of the important reasons behind it. Therefore, it is very important to examine the relationship between carbon emissions and economic growth in the region and for this, the present article is focusing over some selected countries of Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and therefore the 10 ECOWAS countries are selected randomly, out of 15 ECOWAS countries and 32 years of data from 1991-2022 are utilized which is sourced from World Development Indicators (WDI), World Bank and Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Bulletins. A panel data regression technique employed for the analysis of data. The Fixed Effect Model (FEM) estimates indicates that the out of eight explanatory variables four are negatively associated with Co2 emissions and one is statistically significant while other three are insignificant statistically. The Random Effect Model (REM) estimates pointed out that the out of eight independent variables three are having negative effects over the Co2 emission and five are having positive impact over the emissions. Therefore, the study perceived that emission of Co2, Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and industrial growth are not enough to lead the climate change in the region.