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" Discourses of regionalism: "
Mbuh, Cosmas
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Latin Dissertation
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| Record Number
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1096949
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TLets491698
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| Main Entry
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Mbuh, Cosmas
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| Title & Author
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Discourses of regionalism:\ Mbuh, Cosmas
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| College
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Keele University
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| Date
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2008
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| student score
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2008
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| Degree
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Ph.D.
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| Abstract
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The thesis is concerned with the political practices of regional cooperation andintegration in Central Africa. It examines how state interests shape processes ofcooperation through Central Africa's regional organizations, and how claims aboutregional integration work in tum to shape state interests. Working on an initial hypothesisthat regional interdependence and external actor's interests or preferences determine howcooperation -is institutionalised in Central Africa, it seeks to develop· an analytical'framework to investigate the genesis and institutions of the various Central Africanorganisations, Central Africa's response to cooperation in the region, and the critical roleof external actors in contributing to changing regional interstate relations in Central Africa.More precisely, the thesis explores these dynamics in order to ascertain the paradoxicalways' in which claims about the regional character of Central Mrica also work as a practiceof states so as to enhance the legitimacy of state elites, thereby undermining the possibilityof any regional unity. Although the rhetoric of regionalism suggests a 'progressive'agenda that promises to enhance the interest of the people, it is a rhetoric that neverthelesslegitimizes practices that systematically undermine the interests of the people.This paradox-is initially examined in broad historical perspective, especially inrelation to the forms of rule in the colonial period. However, most of the thesis isconcerned with how claims about regionalism have worked since narratives about the~legitimacy of colonial rule have given way to narratives about development andglobalisation. It is concerned especially with the legacy of European models of integration,with the dynamics of the West Mrican Economic and Monetary Union, with theexperiences of CEMAC, with emerging patterns of networking, with the structural form ofspecific institutions and with the role of international and non-governmental agencies. While much has changed since the process of decolonisation began in the 1960s, thedeployment of claims about the region continues to legitimise elitist forms of gove~ent,and thus increases antagonisms between the elites and the people who are excluded fromany meaningful political participation. Contrary to expectations generated by Europeanmodels, claims about regionalism in Central Africa work precisely to affIrm forms ofpolitical rule that are increasingly regressive.
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Keele University
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