Globalization and Politics in the Economic Community of West African States

Globalization and Politics in the Economic Community of West African States offers an engaging perspective on the understanding of globalization in the ECOWAS countries of West Africa. This book discusses the political and structural changes that were enacted by the West African leadership and people to meet the challenges of globalization and examines the extent to which these changes furthered democracy and the respect of human rights. While the book touches on institutions, it lays greater emphasis on political actors' behaviors and thoughts, thus reflecting on the post 1990 political discourse that has evolved in the ECOWAS countries in the wake of globalization. A large variety of themes are covered: gender, the press, the military, elections, constitutions, religion, and ethnicity.

The book also offers an original african-centered approach to democracy in West Africa. With its optimistic and realistic tone, the book offers practical solutions that engage the individual states and the ECOWAS as a collective in the search for sustainable democracy and growth in West Africa. Chief among its suggested solutions, the book reasserts the values of socialism, the importance of feminism and political education, the promotion of Pan West Africanism through the restructuration and reorientation of the Economic Community Monitoring Force, and the inevitabile coalition of four major countries, Ghana, Senegal, Nigeria, and Cote d'Ivoire.

This book is part of the Studies on Globalization and Society Series, edited by Raj Bhala, Rice Distinguished Professor, The University of Kansas School of Law.

"Readers in search of a straightforward, uncomplicated analysis of the influence of globalization on the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) will find this volume helpful. The focus on globalization allows Edi to explore commonalities of ECOWAS parties, such as the role of gender, religion, ethnicity, the military, governance methods, civil liberties, and the press… The heart of the analysis turns on Edi's exploration of variables such as gender and civil liberties. He demonstrates through extensive statistical evidence, how the interaction of these variable affects democratic behavior… The analysis is informed by an extensive bibliography." — CHOICE Magazine