Significance And Dynamics Of African Unity

The leading concepts associated w,' It African unity today are Pan-Afn'canism and AfllcanrnRenaissance. In pariicular, the id(',,1 of African unity is historically associated with PanAfricnaism.rnThis ques t for African Unity, as embodied in Pan-Afllcanism, can be tracedrnback to more than two centurles . Similarly, its new version pioneered by South Africa,rnAf'lcan Rellaissance calls for and J!l'opagates the regeneration and Unity of Africa. Thernquest for Unity as a whole is necessitated by a desire to change Africa's poor economicrnand political conditions as welf as 10 put a strong resistance against externa l exploitationrnAfrican Unification is a stra tegy th"t has the potential to remove many of the scourges therncontinent is facing as well as the illfighting among Africans and to create an atmospherernthat will enable African counl11es resist, more effectively, the increasing foreign pressure.rnThe advocates of African unity on the one hand believe that the disunity of the continentrnis responsible for continued foreign manipulation, exploitation and n·valry betweenrnIIfricans liwt us ually elupt into armed confrontation. On the other hand, a united Africarnwill have the capability to f eed itself, through organized efforts, breaking the long chain ofrndependellcy a ll ci e nhclIlciny the IJilcali condition in the international arena.rnl3eYlllllllt£] III eorly 19605 there IS II lCreUSl1 tg agreement about. the s ignificance ofrncontinental ullificalion Jor A{nca. III part icular, the d ebate to forge unity was at its heightrnin the early yeors (~r independence. HowelJer, the move to JO '-'l1 an immediate integrationrn/os l g roulld (IS ri,e 1/ 1(I}o ri/y oI I //(~ /lew heads of s tales d e cided to a elopt a 'graelLlalis!' orrnstep by step approach to unity. This was the base that s et up the f irst all encompassingrn('ollline n/a! ins /itutiol1 i.e. the Organization of the Afn·can Unity in ] 963. III 1991 Afn·callrncOl llllries decided 10/onl1 AI ricnn Economic Community 10 hasten rhe integration prograrn.rn!frico/! regiOllol eCOIlOflllC COrrU7lLlllities are seen as 'pilla rs ' Jar the ultimate achievementrnof African Unity by the latest continental organization, the African Union, established illrn2002. However, there are sell0us obstacles to make the unification of Africa possible.rnThese obstacles generally can be divided into two broader categories; external andrninternal. The external challenges include foreign intervention, dependency, colonialrnlegacy, debt and intematiollal regionalism. The internal impediments include conflict,rnpoverty, lacle o/political will and institutional weakness, among others.rnNotwithstanding, there are new emerging continental phenonlena that can be seen asrnoppolwnities for AJrlCC1 to achieve ils goal of political unification. Among these the demisernof Apartheid which placed South Africa in the forefront in various continental affairs; thernrenewed commitment by the heads oJ-Afllcan states to speed up the integration processrnexpressed in the formation of African Union and adoption of NEPAD are s ignificant. Morernilllportantly the recent proposal f or lite establis hmellt of a Un ited States of Afn'ca by 2015rnpractically '-eplaced the dis enchantme nt. concerning the integration oJ AJn"cQ with renewedrnell thus/ClsTl1. !ccordingly. AIricw l countries dis cus s ed, at Accra, in early July 2007, on thern.tl/'s prnposnl (or Unioll Ccwenr nw nt. which would be a political transitory arrangeme ntrntowards tile Ullileci Siotes oIlj;-ira . The p roposal set out th ree succes sive phases towardrnes/abhs /lllly til

Get Full Work

Report copyright infringement or plagiarism