Between supranationality and intergovernmentalism

Re-evaluating the relationship between the African Union and regional economic communities

Abstract

The Casablanca-Monrovia debate outlined two possible paths for African regional development. These were: pursuing regional integration through a supranational organisation, or fostering regional cooperation via an intergovernmental framework. This raises an important question about the relationship between regional economic communities (RECs) and the African Union (AU). This article argues that direct control of RECs by the AU is not a practical solution to this issue. Through a thorough historical and legal analysis of regional development in Africa, this paper illustrates that the trajectory of regional economic development has always favoured an intergovernmental relationship characterised by subsidiarity and complementarity between the RECs and the AU. Historically, RECs in Africa were never designed to be under direct oversight. Instead, a relationship based on subsidiarity and complementarity was and is preferred. Thus, this paper proposes the Agreement Establishing the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA Agreement) as a foundational model for establishing a robust framework for the REC-AU relationship. While not perfect, the AfCFTA Agreement recognises the region-specific interests of RECs and is sufficiently flexible to accommodate them, yet concrete enough to define the relationship.