A critical analysis of regional integration in southern Africa

Abstract

The collapse of state communism in Eastern Europe during the second half of the past decade and the subsequent demise of autocratic regimes in Africa presented the people of Southern Africa with new challenges that have become increasingly entangled in issues relating to democracy, freedom and choice.
In Southern Africa, poor economic performance by individual countries coupled with the destabilisation policies pursued by a dominant apartheid regime in South Africa encouraged black independent states in the region to establish mechanisms through which their dependence on South Africa could be reduced. These efforts took the form of setting up the Southern African Development Coordination Conference (SADCC) and consolidating the Preferential Trade Area (PTA). But, how successful have these attempts been in acheiving their goals? If not, are there any alternatives that can be explored in future? Will the political changes currently in the making in South Africa have a significant effect on Regional Integration in Southern Africa? Answers to these questions are not easy to find. Nevertheless, there is s growing realisation among academics and politicians in the region that unless these questions are faced head-on, it could be a long time indeed before the region begins to benefit from the New International Political and Economic arrangements that the end of the Cold War have given rise to.
It is in this context that I undertook the present study, the primary aim of which was to critically examine regional integration in Southern Africa with the goal of unravelling the historical and contemporary realities that make economic and political integration in Southern Africa a lucrative 'pillar' for current development programmes in the region. It is argued that in spite of their ambitious goals, the governments of Southern Africa will have to address their regional problems more realistically before they can succeed in putting in place a viable mechanism for regional integration. There is evidence that this realism is beginning to seed,giving some a new-found optimism that could steer the region into more fruitful debate and pragmatism.