Regional Economic Communities Research Articles

Who supports the African Union? Understanding the determinants of citizens' opinion for African integration

AbstractThe paper aims to investigate the legitimacy of the African Union by examining the socio‐demographic determinants of citizens' support of African integration. To do this, we use Rounds 4, 5, 6, and 8 of the Afrobarometer survey data corresponding to more than 110,000 respondents. Using logistics regressions, we find that individual characteristics such as living area, education, employment status, political membership, freedom, living conditions, and Living Poverty Index (LPI) are significantly related to the probability of supporting African integration. The findings are largely robust to dynamics of regional integration, the African Union, and Regional Economic Communities (RECs). Thus, since African citizens' trust in the unification could be considered a condition of legitimacy in the process, our results suggest that more efforts should be made to gain credibility, especially as it pertains to the benefits of African integration.

Trends in household out-of-pocket health expenditures and their underlying determinants: explaining variations within African regional economic communities from countries panel data

BackgroundThe persistently high out-of-pocket health spending (OOPHE) in Africa raise significant concern about the prospect of reaching SDG health targets and UHC. The study examines the convergence hypothesis of OOPHE in 40 African countries from 2000 to 2019.MethodsWe exploit the logt\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$${\ ext{log }}t$$\\end{document}, club clustering, and merging methods on a panel of dataset obtained from the World Development Indicators, the World Governance Indicators, and the World Health Organization. Then, we employ the multilevel linear mixed effect model to examine whether countries' macro-level characteristics affect the disparities in OOPHE in the African regional economic communities (RECs).ResultsThe results show evidence of full panel divergence, indicating persistent disparities in OOPHE over time. However, we found three convergence clubs and a divergent group for the OOPHE per capita and as a share of the total health expenditure. The results also show that convergence does not only occur among countries affiliated with the same regional economic grouping, suggesting disparities within the regional groupings. The findings reveal that countries' improved access to sanitation and quality of governance, increased childhood DPT immunization coverage, increased share of the elderly population, life expectancy at birth, external health expenditure per capita, and ICT (information and communication technology) significantly affect within-regional groupings’ disparities in OOPHE per capita. The results also show that an increasing countries’ share of elderly and younger populations, access to basic sanitation, ICT, trade GDP per capita, life expectancy at birth, childhood DPT immunization coverage, and antiretroviral therapy coverage have significant impacts on the share of OOPHE to total health expenditure within the regional groupings.ConclusionTherefore, there is a need to develop policies that vary across the convergence clubs. These countries should increase their health services coverage, adopt planned urbanization, and coordinate trade and ICT access policies. Policymakers should consider hidden costs associated with access to childhood immunization services that may lead to catastrophic health spending.

Factors influencing inequality in government health expenditures within African regional economic communities

BackgroundThe unequal distribution of government health spending within African regional economic groupings is a significant barrier to achieving Universal Health Coverage and reaching health-related Sustainable Development targets. It also hampers the progress toward achieving the African Union’s vision of an integrated and prosperous Africa, free of its heavy disease burden. Based on panel data from 36 countries nested into eight Regional Economic Communities (RECs), this study probes the effects of countries' macro-level factors on government health expenditure disparities within eight regional economic communities from 2000 to 2019.MethodWe use the multilevel linear mixed-effect method to show whether countries' trade gains, life expectancy at birth, poverty, urbanization, information and communication technology, and population aging worsen or reduce the differences for two government health expenditure indicators.ResultsThe insignificant effect of GDP per capita suggests that in most regional economic groupings, the health sector is still not considered a high-priority sector regarding overall government expenditures. Countries' poverty levels and urbanization increase the domestic general government health expenditure disparities as a percentage of general government expenditure within the regional groupings. However, trade gains and ICT diffusion reduce these disparities. Furthermore, the results reveal that external health expenditure per capita and life expectancy at birth positively impact within-regional inequalities in the domestic general government health expenditure per capita. In contrast, GDP per capita and trade gains tend to reduce them.ConclusionsThis study enriches the research on the determinants of government health expenditure inequality in Africa. Policies that can spur growth in trade and ICT access should be encouraged. Countries should also make more efforts to reduce poverty. Governments should also develop policies promoting economic growth and planned urbanization.

Analyzing the Efficiency of Trade in Africa: A Stochastic Frontier Gravity Approach to Assess Intra-African Exports Performance and Potential

ABSTRACT The African integration projects established regional economic communities (RECs) to remove trade barriers and stimulate trade among the member countries. Our analysis aims to assess REC trading efficiency and explore trade potential. Assuming that any discrepancy between the observed trade level and the maximum predicted trade level is related to trade inefficiencies, the stochastic frontier gravity is estimated for a sample of 45 African exporting countries and their 43 African partners from 1996 to 2020. The results show low export efficiency among African countries, corresponding to sizable unexploited export capacities.

Critical factors to consider in the trade–security nexus of the African Continental Free Trade Area: A catalyst for establishing peace

ABSTRACT This study examines the geostrategic importance of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), discusses its potential trade impacts on African states, and considers whether it could support regional peace. Regional integration is crucial for achieving industrialisation, promoting trade across African borders, and preserving regional peace and security. Inextricably linked to regional integration is a security community comprising a distinct group of individuals for whom the likelihood of large-scale conflict or violence has diminished. A comparative analysis was conducted using Africa’s trade patterns, milestones, and achievements during 2015–2017 and 2022–2023. Subsequently, the key causes of insecurity on the African continent were explored, focusing on the Regional Economic Communities and states embroiled in coups during 2020–2023. The findings suggest that African authorities view the AfCFTA positively and believe economic integration may bring about peace. However, African authorities would require a strong continental strategy – supported by robust regional and national programmes – to promote investor confidence and trade, considering Africa’s high levels of intercommunal violence, civil unrest, violent extremism, terrorism, and transnational crime. The AfCFTA delayed trade liberalisation to protect Africa’s less developed economies, resulting in poor working conditions, intellectual capital loss, and decreased tax collection.

Agritourism in Central Luzon, Philippines: Status, Challenges, and Pathways to Sustainable Growth

This study explores the status, challenges, and pathways to sustainable growth in Central Luzon, Philippines agritourism. Data from agritourism trainers, farm owners, trainees, and stakeholders are analyzed using a descriptive research design and statistical tools such as Multivariate Tests, Wilks' Lambda (Exact Statistic), and Spearman's Rank-Order Correlation. The research identifies significant variations in agritourism status across site characteristics and underscores the importance of tailored management approaches. Moreover, it reveals a positive correlation between knowledge acquisition and utilization, emphasizing the role of training in enhancing agritourism practices. Despite challenges like waste management and bureaucratic hurdles, agritourism is recognized as a valuable driver of economic development in Central Luzon, offering opportunities for rural communities and sustainable agriculture. This study's implications inform policymakers, educators, and government officials, providing insights for agritourism program development and policy formulation, ultimately contributing to regional economic growth and community well-being.

Making development assistance work forAfrica: from aid-dependent disease control to the new public health order.

The Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has revealed the fragility of pre-crisis African health systems, in which too little was invested over the past decades. Yet, development assistance for health (DAH) more than doubled between 2000 and 2020, raising questions about the role and effectiveness of DAH in triggering and sustaining health systems investments. This paper analyses the inter-regional variations and trends of DAH in Africa in relation to some key indicators of health system financing and service delivery performance, examining (1) the trends of DAH in the five regional economic communities of Africa since 2000; (2) the relationship between DAH spending and health system performance indicators and (3) the quantitative and qualitative dimensions of aid substitution for domestic financing, policy-making and accountability. Africa is diverse and the health financing picture has evolved differently in its subregions. DAH represents 10% of total spending in Africa in 2020, but DAH benefitted Southern Africa significantly more than other regions over the past two decades. Results in terms of progress towards universal health coverage (UHC) are slightly associated with DAH. Overall, DAH may also have substituted for public domestic funding and undermined the formation of sustainable UHC financing models. As the COVID-19 crisis hit, DAH did not increase at the country level. We conclude that the current architecture of official development assistance (ODA) is no longer fit for purpose. It requires urgent transformation to place countries at the centre of its use. Domestic financing of public health institutions should be at the core of African social contracts. We call for a deliberate reassessment of ODA modalities, repurposing DAH on what it could sustainably finance. Finally, we call for a new transparent framework to monitor DAH that captures its contribution to building institutions and systems.

Protection against unfair competition—African Regional Intellectual Property Organization member states and South Africa

Abstract This article summarizes the current status of protection against unfair competition in 19 Member States of the African Regional Intellectual Property Organization (ARIPO) as well as South Africa. Since several study countries are Member States to at least one Regional Economic Community (RECs) or customs union, which have introduced regional or sub-regional competition regimes to advance regional integration in this area, the relevant RECs and customs unions are also briefly analysed. This is followed by some reflections on the impact of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and the AfCFTA’s recently adopted Phase II protocols on Intellectual Property Rights and Competition Policy. The article then examines the different approaches adopted in the study countries to fulfil the obligation to ensure effective protection against unfair competition, as stipulated in Article 10bis(1) of the Paris Convention (PC), and investigates how the concept of ‘honest practices in industrial or commercial matters’ (Article 10bis(2) PC) is interpreted and applied. The article also explores how study countries have implemented the examples of prohibited acts of unfair competition contained in Article 10bis(3) PC, and addresses the question whether additional acts fall within the scope of protection against unfair competition in the study countries. The findings here are presented in such a way that observations from several countries are typically clustered together to exemplify general approaches and categories. The article observes that while countries in the region typically provide some form of legal protection to safeguard fair play in the business sector, study countries represent a variety of legal systems (civil law, common law, a combination of civil law and common law and/or religious law). This influences the way of how they address unfair competition.

Special Issue on the Evolving Nature of African-Led Peace Support Operations and African Armies

Abstract This special issue delves into the evolving nature of African-led Peace Support Operations and their development over the last two decades. The authors explore how states have improved their security and military capabilities to face emerging and existing threats. The papers in this issue illustrate how African-led operations have progressed and how they have been designed to stabilise states, environments, and regions. These operations have been complemented by Regional Economic Communities/ Regional Mechanisms (recs/rms) and Ad-hoc Security Initiatives, which have all deployed intervention missions to tackle various challenges. The papers also note that the increasing presence of African troops in UN missions with stabilisation mandates has allowed the au, recs/rms, and state military to learn through training, national rules of engagement, and civil-military relations and to contribute diverse first-hand experience in African-led Peace Support Operations and UN peacekeeping efforts. Finally, the special issue explores whether some sub-Saharan African states have employed restructuring policies by deploying forces to African-led psos and UN peacekeeping operations and whether this strategy has impacted the effectiveness of their forces.

Ad-hoc Security Initiatives in Africa: a New Type of Security Community?

Abstract Specific transnational security challenges in the Lake Chad Basin (lcb), the Sahel, and parts of Central Africa have necessitated a collective response in the form of ad-hoc security initiatives (asi s). These asi s represent distinct structures and operations which could be viewed in contrast to the United Nations (UN) or African Union (au) peacekeeping operations, Regional Economic Communities (rec s) interventions or even other collective security approaches further afield such as, the North-American Treaty Organization (nato) or Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (osce). The asi s are therefore a display of a unique arrangement which warrants serious discussion within international relations theory. Through an analysis of the rci-lra, mnjtf and the G5 Sahel Joint Force, this paper seeks to examine whether these asi s can be identified as security communities using the conceptual framework initiated by Emmanuel Adler and Michael Barnett (1998). A careful examination of the task forces finds that while the asi s display convincing degrees of mutual trust and a collective identity – some defining features of a security community, its overall compatibility is limited by its inability to guarantee the expectation of peaceful change for citizens, based on its purely militarized approach. In addition, the asi s have not demonstrated the ability to operate independently from external sources of funding, which has the potential to influence dynamics within the arrangement. However, this discussion does point to useful ideas on how the framework of security communities needs to consider the complexity of contemporary conflicts in defining expectations of peaceful change.

The Challenges of Regional Integration and Effective Implementation of African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Policy in Africa

The paper is an investigation of the challenges of regional integration in Africa and their effects on the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) policy. The major objective of the paper is to proffer solutions to the challenges for the effective actualization of the policy. The assumptions of the neo-liberal theory were used to support the AfCFTA initiative to promote economic growth and development in Africa. The data used to advance the argument were obtained from secondary sources of data collection. The study finds that language barrier, multiple currencies, porosity of borders, foreign interference, political instability and insecurity, poor human development, over-lapping of membership of sub-regional organizations, poor state of infrastructure, and state-centric nature of integration initiatives are some of the core challenges hindering the effective execution of the AfCFTA policy. The study recommends that the African Union (AU) should intensify effort at realizing a single currency policy for Africa; design comprehensive regional security architecture to include high technological surveillance, joint air and ground border patrol among member states of Regional Economic Communities (RECs) to address trans-border crimes and insecurity. There should also be institutionalization of counterpart funding among AU member-states for infrastructural development; and encouragement of private and civil society participation in the integration initiative, among others. In concludes that if the challenges identified are not effectively addressed, it will be very difficult for the AU to successfully realize the objectives of the AfCFTA policy.

Exploring the Possibilities of Legal Harmonisation of Non-Tariff Barriers of RECs for the Achievement of the AfCFTA

African Union (AU) countries are expected to pursue more effective, responsive and non-discriminatory regulations to build a more productive regional economy. This article interrogates the prospects of implementing legal harmonisation of Non-Tariff Barriers (NTBs) in the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). The article adopts a qualitative review of the literature with reference to the European Union (EU) and the Organisation for the Harmonisation of Business Law in Africa (OHADA). Analysing instruments of legal harmonisation of the AU and Regional Economic Communities (RECs) reveals lapses in the harmonisation agenda, which impedes intra-regional trade. Furthermore, the article examines the methods of legal harmonisation, benefits, setbacks and efforts RECs make to harmonise NTBs. Also, examining attempts at legal harmonisation by RECs reveals that the harmonisation objectives of the AU’s legal frameworks have not been effective. On the other hand, RECs have progressed unequally in meeting their treaty goals and essential programmes. This article establishes that the legal harmonisation model, political will and states’ inability to supranationalise community rules are the major reasons for the lack of harmonisation. In addition, overambitious targets with limited resources account for the failure of the AU and its RECs to achieve their stated objectives. Finally, the article proposes a legal harmonisation model that will directly affect domestic regulations.

Forecasting Consumer Price Index Expenditure Inflation for Food Ingredients Using Singular Spectrum Analysis

Inflation is an economic problem that significantly impacts the macro economy and people's real income if it occurs continuously. South Sulawesi Province often experienced significant inflation fluctuations during 2005-2019. In 2015, inflation in South Sulawesi reached 3.32%, ranking the highest in Eastern Indonesia. Ten food ingredients played an essential role in influencing inflation that year. However, until now, research on forecasting Consumer Price Index expenditure inflation for food ingredients in South Sulawesi using the Singular Spectrum Analysis method has never been carried out. The novelty in this research lies in using the Singular Spectrum Analysis method, which provides a new contribution to forecasting inflation trends in South Sulawesi and deepens understanding of regional inflation problems. This research aims to forecast consumer price index expenditure inflation for food ingredients in South Sulawesi using the Singular Spectrum Analysis method. This research used CPI expenditure inflation data for food ingredients from the official website of the Central Statistics Agency of South Sulawesi for the monthly period from January 2014 - June 2022. The forecasting results show that the lowest inflation rate is predicted to occur in December 2022 at -0,12%, while the highest level is expected to be reached in May 2023 at 0.43%. Furthermore, the mean absolute percentage error value of 3.54% indicates that the forecasting model has a very good level of accuracy. The results of this forecasting have the potential to be used by economic policymakers in South Sulawesi in designing more effective policies to overcome the problem of inflation, especially in the food ingredients and its impact on society. The practical implications of this research can help improve regional economic stability and community welfare.

The role of African airlines in air transport liberalisation

Background: The African aviation liberalisation process began in 1988, following the liberalisation processes in Europe and the United States (US). However, by 2023, Intra-Africa air services are still reliant on the Bilateral Air Services Agreement (BASA) by which international traffic rights are exchanged in terms of the 1944 Chicago Convention, a multilateral treaty. These impose restrictions on intra-African connectivity and are obstacles to liberalisation. African multilateral initiatives, such as the Yamoussoukro Declaration, have varying levels of implementation by African states. While liberalisation efforts have major impacts on airlines, thus far these have been led by government structures.Objective: The main objectives of the study are to determine the involvement of airlines in African liberalisation development and the likely impact of the liberalisation initiatives on airline operations.Method: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 intra-Africa airline executives from four Regional Economic Communities (REC), which would be impacted by liberalisation.Results: The study finds that airlines do not fully participate in the development of liberalisation initiatives. Although sometimes consulted, their associations are usually only granted observer status at deliberations and negotiations. The likely impacts of the initiatives to airlines include direct connectivity, and harmonised African air transport access.Conclusion: The lack of airline participation may be a key reason for the slow progress towards liberalisation and full deregulation in Africa.Contribution: This study contributes to the body of knowledge, by being the first study to consider the role of airlines in the development of liberalisation initiatives.

African power pools and regional electricity market design: Taking stock of regional integration in energy sectors

While the traditional perspective on regional power pools is that of regional electricity markets, regional power pools in Africa are development tools with unrepresentative and under-researched dynamics in their evolution and market design. Five African power pools are under development to bring the continent into a single electricity market. This paper analyses the evolution of African power pools by examining their design factors and dynamics. It compares the three most advanced power pools (SAPP, WAPP and EAPP) to identify barriers, forces, and development approaches. The paper devises a multilayer analytical framework to organise the various elements in the institutional context of African power pools and structure the analysis of the physical, economic, institutional and political factors. The analysis shows that the unequal distribution of natural energy endowments across the regions stimulated the historical development of interconnections and trade between countries. The characteristics of regional integration were vital in shaping the power pool’s institutions and development approaches. We have identified three motors of change that have driven the development; regional economic communities, members’ strategies, and international institutions. It is crucial for progress that the pool staff can mitigate non-cooperative strategies, address members’ concerns, and incentivise a shift in national agendas to build confidence in regional trade.

What makes joint assessment procedures attractive to the innovative industry: successes, challenges, and proposed improvements.

Regulatory harmonization and convergence have been identified as the key driver in promoting efficient evaluation of medicines, reducing workload, and supporting earlier access to medicines on the African continent. There has been great progress to date in enhancing regulatory harmonization and convergence on the African continent via the Regional Economic Communities (RECs) and with the establishment of the Africa Medicines Agency (AMA). In this article, the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations (IFPMA) Africa Regulatory Network (ARN) presents its perspective based on the available literature review and results from a survey conducted with innovative biopharmaceutical companies to gather experiences using regional joint assessment procedures (JAPs) in Africa, such as the East African Community Medicines Regulatory Harmonization (EAC-MRH), the West African Medicines Regulatory Harmonization (WA-MRH), and the Southern African Development Community Medicines Regulatory Harmonization (SADC-MRH) initiative through the ZAZIBONA Collaborative Procedure for Medicines Registration (ZaZiBoNa), and provides best practices in this evolving landscape. The article also assesses other collaborative registration pathways available to facilitating registration of pharmaceutical products in African countries, such as WHO Collaborative Registration Procedures (CRP), Swissmedic's Marketing Authorisation for Global Health Products (MAGHP) and EU Medicines for All (EU-M4ALL). Benefits and challenges of each of the existing pathways are discussed in this article. Main benefits include building more expert capacity and improved collaboration amongst experts, as well as shorter review timelines in some cases. Key challenges include the lack of predictability in the adherence to procedural timelines as defined per guidelines, lengthy timeline to achieve national marketing authorization following joint assessment, the lack of dedicated personnel, administrative issues during the submission process as well as additional country-specific requirements on top of JAP-specific requirements. Our recommendations for improvements include harmonization of requirements across countries and regions and with international standards, appropriate resource allocation for JAP activities to ensure adherence to timelines, use of JAPs throughout the entire product lifecycle and all product categories, adequate use of digital technologies, and improved communication and transparency with applicants. These improvements will allow industry to better plan their filing strategies for the region which will lead to overall improved usability of the JAPs in Africa and enable faster patient access.

Impact of SADC Free Trade Area on Southern Africa’s Intra-Trade Performance: Implications for the African Continental Free Trade Area

The main raison d’être of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Free Trade Area (FTA) implemented in 2012 was to inter alia boost intra-regional trade and promote regional trade integration. The low levels of growth and mixed trade performance of countries, eight years after, raises questions about the success of the FTA. The success of the recently launched African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) partly hinges on the performance of the regional FTAs like the SADC FTA. This is because it is unlikely that the African Union through the AfCFTA will achieve continentally what regional economic communities failed to achieve at the regional level. We use a gravity model as well as the difference in difference estimator to evaluate, ex-post, the impact of the SADC FTA on total and sectoral intra-exports. Using data from 2001 to 2019, results show that the full implementation of the SADC FTA did not significantly affect export performance with the export difference between countries that joined the FTA and those that did not being insignificant. These results do not change even when using sectoral exports. JEL Codes: F1, F13, F14, F15

Region‐centric infrastructure policies and the regional politics surrounding Chinese railway projects: Insights from the East Africa region

AbstractThe African Union and regional economic communities have identified infrastructure development, not least the enhancement of railway systems, as a key priority to advance regional and continental integration policy. The keen interest of Chinese actors in Africa's railway sector is largely welcomed as conducive to increasing infrastructural connectivity within and between Africa's sub‐regions. This article argues that regional railway projects must be assessed against regional political contexts, which crucially co‐determine the degree of coordination and cooperation in the context of region‐centric infrastructure policies. Competing national political agendas, exacerbated mostly by China's bilateral engagement with East African Community member states, has intensified East Africa's infrastructure race. This has resulted in a poorly coordinated standard‐gauge railway project along the East African Northern Corridor; consequently, its economic viability is in doubt.Related ArticlesIkeanyibe, Okechukwu Marcellus. 2018. “Bureaucratic Politics and the Implementation of Liberalization Reforms in Nigeria: A Study of the Unbundling and Reorganization of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation.” Politics & Policy 46(2): 263–94. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12249.Iwuoha, Victor Chidubem, Nneka Ifeoma Okafor, and Emmanuel Ifeadike. 2022. “State Regulation of Nigeria's Maritime Ports: Exploring the Impact of Port Concession on Both the Regulator and the Operators.” Politics & Policy 50(5): 1032–52. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12495.McNamara, Madeleine W., John C. Morris, and Martin Mayer. 2014. “Expanding the Universe of Multi‐Organizational Arrangements: Contingent Coordination and the Deepwater Horizon Transportation Challenges.” Politics & Policy 42(3): 346–68. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12073.

What determines Tanzania's trade? A gravity approach

Based on the gravity model, this study examines the determinants of trade flows between Tanzania and its trading partners and attempts to predict the country's trade potential. Using a panel dataset of Tanzania's trade flows of 100 countries from 2000 to 2016, this study finds that the results are consistent with the predictions of the gravity model, with positive and negative coefficients for gross domestic product and distance, respectively. The predicted trade potential reveals that neighboring countries and some middle and superpowers have significant trade potential. Considering the important contribution of trade to economic growth and notwithstanding Tanzania's active membership in regional economic communities, such as the East African Cooperation, Southern African Development Cooperation, and the anticipated engagement in the African Continental Free Trade Agreement, this study provides policy recommendations to reduce trade barriers and diversify production to promote intra-African trade and enhance trade with the rest of the world.

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.