Paper short abstract:

The paper will discuss the North Africa regional integration in the wake of the Arab Spring and the prospects of revitalizing the Arab Maghreb Union (AMU) and strengthening the Community of Sahel and Saharan States (CEN-SAD).

Paper long abstract:

Regional Economic Communities (RECs) have a significant role to play in driving integration in Africa. The African Union and NEPAD depend on the RECs for the implementation of their programmes. But compared to other sub-regions in the continent, North Africa has been lagging behind in terms of regional integration. Political disputes and limited institutional capacity weakened the Arab Maghreb Union (AMU). In spite of its good potentials, the Community of Sahel and Saharan States (CEN-SAD) has largely been dependent on the personality of its founder, Muammar Al-Qadaffi. The change of political regimes in the wake of the popular uprisings in North Africa has opened opportunities for strengthening the two sub-regional organisations. Post-Ben Ali Tunisia and Algeria decided recently to co-ordinate their policies to confront security problems in the Sahel. Discussions among Maghreb countries are underway to revitalize the AMU. Morocco seems to be taking the lead to strengthen CEN-SAD. The paper will discuss the North Africa regional integration in the wake of the Arab Spring and the prospects of strengthening existing organisations. It will be divided into four sections. The first section will briefly discuss the development of integration thinking in Africa. The second section will review the North African record in regional integration and the obstacles that hindered its development. The third section will define the regional environment in the wake of the Arab spring. The last section will examine the recent developments in the integration policies of North African countries and their impact on integration in the region.