Regional Integration in West Africa: Proceedings of the International Conference organized by IDRC in Dakar, Senegal

More than 30 years after many West African countries achieved their independence, the region remains divided. Economic, linguistic, and cultural differences accentuate this division. Despite numerous efforts aimed at reducing these obstacles, progress towards regional cooperation remains slow.

In this book, the IDRC presents the proceedings of one of the few international conferences whose theme is to examine the question of regional integration using a multidisciplinary perspective. The conference was organized by IDRC and attended by more than 200 delegates representing regional institutions and representatives of donor, government, and aid organizations. Delegates examined the economic, strategic, cultural, intellectual, socio-political, and institutional aspects of regional integration.

This book brings together the ideas of a diversified group of participants. Teeming with information and ideas, the publication renews discussion and thought on the question of regional integration.

The editors

Réal Lavergne is a Senior Program Specialist for Economic and Technology Policy, International Development Research Centre, Dakar, Senegal. He has published numerous texts including L'Aide au développement du Canada au Sénégal and The Political Economy of U.S.Tariffs: An Empirical Analysis.

Momar-Coumba Diop is a researcher/professor (sociology) at Cheikh Anta Diop University (UCAD), Dakar, Senegal. He has published articles on the Senegalese State and with a colleague is responsible for the multinational Codesria Network. The Network studies the transition to democracy in Africa. He has dedicated his research to the question of the relationship between the central state and local communities.