Rethinking Civil Society Regionalism in Africa: Challenges and Opportunities in Democratic Participation and Peacebuilding in the Post-ECOWAS Vision 2020

Cover
Endorsement Page
Half Title
Series Page
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Table of Contents
List of illustrations
List of Abbreviations
Preface
Acknowledgement
Introduction
	The Research Project, the Question and Its Significance
	The Main Contributions to the Literature
	Overview of the Research Analytical Approach
	Development of the Project
	Organisation of the Book
	Note
Chapter 1 The Making of Civil Society in African Regions and Regionalisms
	Introduction
	Regionalism and the Advent of Civil Society
	Situating Civil Society in the Revival of Regionalisms
	The New Regionalism in Africa as a Post-Cold War Phenomenon
	Understanding Region to Understand Regional Civil Society
	Analysing Civil Society in African Regionalism
	What Is Missing in the Literature on Civil Society in African Regionalism?
	Emphasising the Gaps: Bringing West Africa to the Centre
	The Direction of the Study
	Notes
Chapter 2 Analytical Framework
	Introduction
	How the Chapter Is Structured
	From Revisiting Civil Society Regionalism to Analysing Its Actorship
	Framing Civil Society Actorship through Reflectivism of the New Regionalism
	Democratic Participation and Human Security
	Regime Types versus Regional Norms and Civil Society Participation in Regionalisms
	The Analytical Framework for the Book
		Regional Identity
		Regional Collective Identity versus Regional Social Identity
		Regional Presence
		Macro-regional Presence
		Meso-regional Presence
		Micro-regional Presence
		Regional Capacity
		Societal Impact
	Conclusion
	Note
Chapter 3 The Contextual Understanding of the Evolution of Regional Civil Society in West Africa
	Introduction
	The History of Regional CSOs in West Africa
	Regional CSOs in a Colonial and Post-colonial Historical Reflection
	The Post-colonial West Africa: States, the Regime and Civil Society
	Inspirations/Rationale for Regional CSOs in West Africa:
	Regional Shades of Security and Democracy: Shifting from a Regime-focused Regional Governance
	How Civil Society Actors Regionalise to Contribute to Regional Governance
	Conclusion
	Notes
Chapter 4 Civil Society and Democratic Participation in the West African Regionalism
	Introduction
	WACSOF at a Glance
	Why WACSOF as a Case Study?
	WACSOF and Its Governance Structure
	The People’s Forum
	The Executive Committee
	Thematic Groups
	WACSOF National Platforms
	WACSOF in the Context of Regionalism/Regionalisation in Africa
	Analysing WACSOF as a Regional Civil Society Actor
	WACSOF’s Regional Social Identity
	WACSOF’s Regional Presence
		WACSOF’s Macro-regional Presence
		WACSOF’s Meso-regional Presence
		WACSOF’s Micro-regional Presence
	WACSOF’s Regional Capacity
		The Impact of Political Regime of ECOWAS Member States on WACSOF’s Capacity
	WACSOF’s Societal Impact
	Creating a voice for civil society in the ECOWAS Regionalism
	Operationalising ECOWAS Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance
	Collective Action against Child/Early Marriage
	Other Notable Efforts of WACSOF
		Weak National Presence
		Contentious Identity, Ownership, Leadership and Governance
	Conclusion
	Notes
Chapter 5 Civil Society and Regional Peacebuilding in West Africa: Assessing the Evolution of the West African Network for Peacebuilding (WANEP) as an Actor
	Introduction
	Brief Historical Background of WANEP in a ‘Troubled Region’
	Justification of WANEP as a Case Study
	WANEP’s Governance and Organisational Structure
	Framing WANEP in the Context of Regionalism/Regionalisation in Africa
	Analysing WANEP as a Regional Civil Society Actor
	WANEP’s Regional Social Identity
		WANEP’s Regional Presence
		WANEP’s Macro-regional Presence
		WANEP’s Meso-regional Presence
		WANEP’s Micro-regional Presence
	WANEP’s Regional Capacity in West Africa
		Assessing WANEP’s Regional Capacity
		The Impact of the Political Regime in the ECOWAS Member States on WANEP
	WANEP’s Societal Impact
	Conclusion
	Note
Chapter 6 Conclusion
	Introduction
	Fulfilling the Book’s Aims and Contributions to the Literature
		Theoretical Contributions of This Study
		Empirical Contributions of This Study
	General Lessons from Regional Civil Society Activities in West Africa
	Relating to the Existing Study of Civil Society Regionalisation
	Limitations
	Potential Areas for Future Research
	Post-Vision 2020 Insights into ECOWAS Regionalism
	Final Comment
	Notes
Bibliography
Appendices
Appendix 1: List of Host Organisations for WACSOF
Appendix 2: The List of Participants in the Study’s Interviews
Appendix 3: The List of WANEP’s Partners/Supporters
Index