Transcending Member States: Political and Legal Dynamics of Building Continental Supranationalism in Africa

Description

This book explores innovative and context-driven political and legal policy measures designed to expand the powers of the African Union (AU) in order to meaningfully drive the continental integration process. In this regard, the book addresses issues of context, political will, and innovative and inclusive approaches as essential elements that must be considered.  Africa is currently experiencing one of the most critical phases of its integrative development. Since 2015, there have been increasing efforts to develop policies and practices that grant the AU broader powers to coordinate and create binding rules regarding the regional integration process. In other words, these processes seek to endow the AU with supranational powers like those exercised by the European Union, which, despite its internal problems, remains the most successful experiment in supranationalism in the world. This has included the decision to finance the AU through a 0.2% tax on eligible imports into member states; the decision to reduce the number of AU Commission portfolios from eight to six; the adoption and entry into force of the much touted Agreement establishing the African Continental Free Trade Area; the adoption of the Protocol to the Treaty Establishing the African Economic Community Relating to Free Movement of Persons, Right to Residence and Right of Establishment; and the adoption of the AU Agenda 2063 policy framework in 2015. How these processes will change the direction of regional integration in Africa, the book argues, largely depends on the existence of quality-driven institutions. Acknowledgment Contents Abbreviations List of Figure List of Tables Chapter 1: Introduction 1.1 Background 1.2 A Diverse Continent 1.3 Commingling of Law and Politics 1.4 Structure of the Book References Chapter 2: The Idea of Continental Supranationalism 2.1 Introduction 2.2 The Concept of Supranationalism 2.3 Pan-Africanism: The Philosophical Underpinning of Unity 2.4 Continental Supranationalism in Africa 2.4.1 Pace 2.4.2 Nature 2.4.3 Context 2.5 Conclusion References Chapter 3: The African Union 3.1 Introduction 3.2 The Establishment of the AU 3.3 The AU Constitutive Act 3.4 How Supranational Is the AU? 3.4.1 Intention 3.4.2 Action 3.4.3 Outcomes 3.5 Conclusion References Chapter 4: Understanding the Interplay of Law and Politics in the Matrix of Continental Supranationalism 4.1 Introduction 4.2 Imitation: Copying and Pasting the EU Template 4.3 Complex Relational Dynamics 4.3.1 AU-REC Relations 4.3.2 AU-Member States Relations 4.3.3 AU-Civil Society Relations 4.4 The Politics of Reforms 4.4.1 Powerplay Between the Maximalists and the Minimalists (2005-2011) 4.4.2 Pragmatic Incrementalism (2015: Present) 4.4.3 The Problematics of Reform Efforts 4.5 Conclusion References Chapter 5: Transcending Member States 5.1 Introduction 5.2 A Repurposed African Worldview 5.3 A Triptych Analysis 5.3.1 Internal Dynamics: Repositioning the Centre 5.3.1.1 Pillar 1: Broader Institutional Realignment and Reforms Technocratic Competence of the AU Commission Reforming PAP and ACJ&HR 5.3.1.2 Pillar 2: Self-restraining Measures 5.3.1.3 Pillar 3: Bottom-up Supranational Regionalism 5.3.1.4 Pillar 4: Enhanced State Capacity 5.3.2 External Dynamics: Navigating the Shifting Global Geo-Political Landscape 5.3.3 Syncretic Dynamics: Towards ``Strategic Hybridisation´´ 5.4 Conclusion References Chapter 6: Conclusion 6.1 Summary of Findings 6.2 Issues for Further Research and Policy Approaches List of Treaties List of Cases