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THE DEVELOPMENT OF A TRANS-NATIONAL REGION IN WEST AFRICA:
Transcending the Politics of Sovereign Nation States


Author: 
Year:
Pages:476
ISBN:0-7734-3700-2
978-0-7734-3700-5
Price:$279.95
This work presents a historical framework and a plan for reform of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). It is is based upon in-country investigations, surveys of published works, and a thorough examination of primary sources.

Reviews

“This book is likely to be a revelation to those familiar with regional integration... the details provided on the current state of West African institutions, organizations, media, and developmental progress are a gold mine.”
-Prof. Dawna L. Rhoades, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University

"Dr. Camara is uniquely qualified to author this manuscript. He is a tenured professor at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University where he teaches African history and international relations. His Ph.D. in history is from one of America’s premier schools of higher education, Northwestern University. Camara is also a Fulbright alumnus, a William Diaz Fellow alumnus, and the author of several major publications on Africa and African media. Most importantly, he is West African. He served as journalist for National Radio/Television in Guinea, president of the Guinean National University Press, and speechwriter for President Sékou Touré of Guinea. Camara is perfectly bilingual in English and French, the two international languages common to the fifteen ECOWAS countries. Finally, he has demonstrated in the manuscript’s endnotes his mastery of appropriate sources of information. His impressive array of research is based upon in-country investigations, surveys of published works, and a thorough examination of primary sources."
Dr. James K. Libbey, Professor Emeritus

From the Foreword:
“In a meticulous and exhaustive work Camara captures the efforts of the fifteen nation-states at building an [Economic Community of West African States] ECOWAS of states and the role of NGOs, the media and civil society in democratizing public life, both nationally and regionally, and building a borderless ECOWAS of people”
­-Prof. Boubacar Barry, Cheikh Anta Diop University - Dakar

Table of Contents

Foreword
Acknowledgments
Introduction

Chapter 1: The Regionalist Agenda in West Africa from the Colonial Era to ECOWAS

Historical Overview of the Regionalist Agenda in West Africa
ECOWAS and the Quest for Collective Self-Reliance

Chapter 2: The NGO Revolution and the Renaissance of Civil Society in West Africa
West Africa’s “NGO Revolution” in Perspective
The Re/Birth of Civil Society in West Africa?

Chapter 3: The Media-State-Society Nexus from Colonialism to the “African Renaissance”
Media, State, and Society: Colonial Design and Post-Colonial Status Quo
Media, State, and Society in the Age of Political Liberalization

Chapter 4: Case Studies WACSOF, WANEP, RADDHO, OSIWA, MFWA, WAJA, PIWA, IFJ and the Building of Transnational Civil Society
West Africa Civil Society Forum (WACSOF)
West Africa Network for Peace-Building (WANEP)
African Assembly for the Defense of Human Rights (RADDHO)
Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA)
Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA)
The West African Journalists Association (WAJA)
Panos Institute West Africa (PIWA)
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) Africa Office

Chapter 5: Media, Transnational Civil Society and the Building of Regional Governance and State Accountability in ECOWAS
“From ECOWAS of States to ECOWAS of People” for a Twenty-First-Century Regional Governance
Forces of Regional Governance as Promoters of State Accountability

Conclusion

Appendices
Bibliography
Glossary of Abbreviations
Index