Economic Community Of West African States Research Articles

Niger’s Long Cycle of Poverty and Coups

In July 2023, Niger experienced the latest in a long series of military coups. Now afflicted by climate change, the country continues to rank as one of the poorest in the world. Poverty and perceptions of corruption limit public confidence in democratic governance. Led by Nigeria, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) imposed sanctions on the new junta and threatened a military intervention, adding to the suffering of the population. But ECOWAS eventually backed down, while the junta moved to cut off antiterrorism cooperation with France and the United States, embracing Russia instead, following a trend set by other recent coups across the Sahel.

Infrastructure and economic growth in ECOWAS member states: The Westerlund co-integration approach

This research explores the impact of infrastructure on member states' economic growth in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). Utilizing panel secondary data sourced from the World Bank Development Indicators (WDI) and the African Infrastructure Development Index (AIDI) across all fifteen ECOWAS Member States over eighteen years, the study employs the panel Non-linear Autoregressive Distributed Lag (NARDL) model and the Westerlund co-integration test for analysis. The findings reveal that investments in infrastructure, improvements in the African Development Index, and enhancements in the Electricity Composite Index significantly contribute to the economic growth of ECOWAS countries. Specifically, infrastructure investment is associated with a 0.01 per cent increase in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the ECOWAS countries studied. In comparison, the African Development Index and the Electricity Composite Index are linked to increases in GDP by 0.292 per cent and 0.987 per cent, respectively, in the long term. Based on these outcomes, the study recommends that ECOWAS country authorities enhance policies to optimize government spending on infrastructure quality. Furthermore, adopting quality-enhancing and efficiency-driven financing policies in infrastructure is advocated to complement ECOWAS's ongoing infrastructural development efforts. The realization of these recommendations hinges on the availability of accurate data for informing decisions and guiding policymakers. Hence, the study underscores the need for the ECOWAS Commission to bolster its capacity for collecting reliable data on infrastructure variables and other indicators. It also proposes that future research should focus on promoting sub-regional peer-review mechanisms for infrastructure indicators among member states and establishing structures to fortify infrastructure in West Africa.

Long Term Forecasting of Peak Demand and Annual Electricity Consumption of the West African Power Pool Interconnected Network by 2032

The uneven distribution of primary sources of electric power generation in Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) compelled the heads of states to create the West African Power Pool (WAPP). The vision of this system is to set up a common electrical energy market to satisfy the balance between supply and demand at an affordable price using the interconnected network. Forecasting maximum power demand and energy consumption is essential for planning and the coordination of new power plant and transmission lines building. This work consists of predicting maximum power demand and total energy that must transit through the WAPP interconnected network by the year 2032. We compare the performances of three time series models namely the Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM), Auto-Regressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA) and Fb Facebook Prophet. Electric power and energy data used for training the systems comes from the WAPP authorties. The results show that, for monthly peaks, the Facebook (Fb) Prophet model is the best, with a MAPE (mean absolute error percentage) of 3.1% and a low RMSE (root mean square error) of 1.225 GW. For energy prediction, ARIMA performances are the best compared to others with (RMSE 1.20 TWh, MAPE 1.00%). Thus, the forecast for total annual energy consumption and annual peak demand will be, respectively, 96.85TWh and 13.6 GW in 2032.

Towards Decolonial Praxes in Critical Peace Education for Sustainable Futures

This paper examines decolonial praxes in critical peace education using philosophical framework of African Conversational School. In the process, it examines: Conversational School of African Philosophy, critical peace education for sustainable futures, the importance of decolonial praxes, conceptual framework for critical peace education for sustainable future, Nigerian educational system and education policies of Federal Republic of Nigeria (FRN), Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and African Union (AU). The paper theorizes that decolonial praxes in critical peace education should be pursued with a combination of local and global cultures (glocalization) for sustainable futures since both cultures have positive contributions to human life. Therefore, the conclusion and suggestions of this paper are partly based on this theoretical position. Introduction of decolonial critical peace education as a separate subject and as objectives in other subjects is the main suggestion and conclusion made.

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.

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.

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.

The Role of Corruption on Liberia’s Peace and Stability

This essay addresses the role of corruption in Liberia’s peace, security, and stability. This essay argues that corruption led to the Liberian Civil War and remains the present and future security risk to Liberia. It further argues that the election of the newly elected Liberian Government under H.E Joseph Nyuma Boakia, and Vice President Jeremiah Koung was timely and could help to remove this binding constraint to Liberia’s growth and development. Former President Charles Taylor left power on 11 August 2003 thereby ending the fourteen-year civil conflict in the country; however, Mr. Taylor was prosecuted and convicted for war crimes committed only in Sierra Leone rather than those in Liberia leaving the peace and stability of Liberia fragile. It is hoped that this new government will bring an end to impunity in Liberia by establishing a War and Economic Crimes Court to prosecute such crimes in the Republic of Liberia. The essay reviews the history of corruption in Liberia, the causes, and effects of a weak anti-corruption system, it discusses the challenges militating against the speedy and successful prosecution of corruption cases in Liberia. This research is important because the researcher argues that corruption was the cause of the Liberian Civil Crises. Hence, the Liberian Anti-Corruption Commission (LACC) was created to curb the endemic corruption in both the Liberian public and private sectors (LACC Act 2008). However, this anti-graft agency has not done much to curb the menace. Because of this, the international community, including the Economic Community for West African States (ECOWAS), United Nations, and other bodies intervened in the Liberia Civil Crisis to help the country transition towards peace and stability. Nevertheless, corruption in Liberia persists and hampers sustainable socio-political progress and retards economic growth and development (UNCAC 2003; LACC Act 2008). Here fore, it constitutes the outstanding main current and future security risk to Liberia. Simply put, corruption is Liberia’s binding constraint to national development, which if not adequately addressed could remain a wicked problem for the state and its future generations.

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

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.

UN Peacekeeping in Africa: Nature, Scope and Development

The hybrid nature and scope of contemporary conflicts, the terrorism threat, and the dramatic increase in competition for resources, global militarization and security challenges in Africa do not only carry the risk of state collapse, but have conditioned concerted efforts by national, regional and international actors to protect human rights and remedy the humanitarian situation. In many ways, the African continent with its unique and diverse nature of conflicts has become a platform for the renewal of the United Nations (UN) peacekeeping through the development of new operational and normative practices and strategies that, as a distinctive feature of the UN missions in the African continent, have gradually moved from the status of innovations to the category of quite commonplace global practice. This article attempts to assess UN peacekeeping in Africa from the 1960s till 2022. The authors examine the characteristics, nature and scope of peacekeeping operations (PKOs) as well as strategies for transforming peacekeeping mandates. Using a problem-chronological approach, comparative analysis and quantitative assessments of the UN peacekeeping missions, the formats of cooperation with regional organizations (the African Union (AU) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)), gender composition of the UN missions, in particular, the authors come to the natural conclusion that the number of the UN peacekeeping operations and political missions in Africa remains high and their mandates have expanded and become more complex with increased activity of the leading world powers. The authors conclude that stabilization and conflict resolution in Africa will greatly depend on effective cooperation between the UN and regional organizations, as well as on the UN reforms and its ability to adapt rapidly to changing conflict scenarios in each African state.

Trade and Climate Variability in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)

The study examined whether trade causes climate variability in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). Specifically, it investigated the impact of trade (% GDP) on climate variability indicators such as CO2, N2O, and PM2.5. The study followed Frankel debate on environment effect of trade with modification on the N2O variable rather than the SO2 used in Frankel (2003). The study employed random effect regression on data collected from World Bank indicators from 2010-2021. The study found that trade in ECOWAS cause climate variability (CO2, N2O). However, the trade effect on PM2.5 shows a decreasing relationship. The study observed scale, income and composition effect of growth on the time- varying behaviour of climate in the ECOWAS. Thus, the EKC theory was found to be present in ECOWAS. Thus, an appropriate carbon tax laws would help prevent cross border trade on dirty goods and carbon leakages associated with lax environmental control.

Studying practices of interregional security governance and space-making between ECOWAS and the European Union

ABSTRACT Since the 1990s, cooperation on security governance between African regional organisations and the European Union (EU) has been growing. However, despite a steadily growing scholarship, knowledge about the agency of African regional organisations in interregional relations is still very limited, especially when it comes to the so-called regional economic communities officially recognised by the African Union as ‘building blocks’ for continental cooperation and integration. Responding to this research gap, this article studies practices of interregional security governance and space-making between the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the EU, emphasising African agency. It argues that based on specific security knowledge and spatial imaginations, transnational security assemblages have emerged, resulting in a complex field of interregional relations, comprising multiple interconnected sites, actors and practices. It begins by mapping the field of ECOWAS–EU interregionalism and studies some of the sites, actors and practices in more detail. In this way, the article contributes to a research agenda that takes the agency of African regional organisations in their relations with the EU more seriously, and advances academic knowledge about their role in global international relations more generally.

The Impact of Multilateral Trade Agreements on Intra-Regional Trade: A Case of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)

The Impact of Multilateral Trade Agreements on Intra-Regional Trade: A Case of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)