ISBN : 9782296568877
REGIONAL INTEGRATION IN AFRICA : DECONSTRUCTING THE STATE, CONSTRUCTING A PARADIGM SHIFT
Jeggan C. Senghor*
Like the Christian Deity the state in Africa has been omnipresent, omnipotent, and omniscient. It has borne the trademarks of the Leviathan of Thomas Hobbes even if the philosophical underpinnings and sociology of the debates on the social contract of the 18th century differ so markedly from the African condition. The imprints are easily traceable to the colonial interregnum: instead of dissolving they have turned out to be indelible. This has not augured well for the African state. Indeed, it has given rise to more problems than the state has been able to handle. The different facets of this experience are the primary concerns of the first part of this paper....