ISBN : 9782296568877
SOCIAL COHESION, REGIONALISM AND DEVELOPMENT IN WEST AFRICA
Terhemba Nom Ambe-Uva
This exploratory paper wants to link three issues: (i) social cohesion, (ii) regionalism and (iii) development in West Africa. The main argument is that the neglect of social cohesion in the discourse on regional integration schemes in West Africa accounts for the dismal failures of regionalism. However, if properly factored such as the recent establishment of three new institutions of the ECOWAS portends: the Community Parliament, the Economic and Social Council, and the Community Court of Justice, regionalism would enhance the global repositioning of the West African region. However, we must be cautious in mimicking the European Union model. Even though it provides some insights, the cultural, social,...