North Africa Programme
Call for Papers
North Africa in Africa:
Issues, Problematiques and the Way forward

AISA North Africa Project

In an effort to increase its foot print in the north of Africa, the Africa Institute of South Africa proposes to carry out a research project focusing on this region of the continent. Titled, North Africa in Africa: Issues, Problematiques and the way forward, this project will bring together a range of scholars looking at issues relating to the role of the north in promoting Africa’s integration, challenges that emerge from the various models being used, and the prospects for enhancing interaction between north and the rest of the African continent.

Background:

North Africa is often treated as separate from sub-Saharan Africa. However, historical facts as well as political and economic interests indicate that North African countries were and are closely linked to the African continent. These countries have played a vital role in the march of pan- Africanism. Egypt was one of the founding states of the Organization of African Unity. More than three decades later, it played, together with Libya, a central role in restructuring the organization and establishing the African Union. Countries of North Africa have also contributed to the design and implementation of African development plans. One of the recent examples is the involvement of Egypt and Algeria in the launching of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD).

Engagements of North African countries in the African continent are based on achieving key interests. Egypt’s concern with securing water resources strongly connects it with the other nine African Nile Basin countries. It is for this reason that Egypt aims at being an active member in regional institutions that include the Nile basin countries in its membership. The Nile Basin Initiative and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) are two organizations that serve this aim.

Other North African countries have developed their relationships with Sub-Saharan Africa to establish a regional leading role and a sphere of influence. Since the end of the nineties, Libya has seen in its rising role in Africa a way out of the western boycott. In few years, Libya has mediated to resolve a number of African conflicts, contributed to the establishment of new sub-regional organization (The Community of Sahel-Saharan States known as or CEN-SAD), and generously provided financial aid to a number of African countries. The same aim can be highlighted, with a less noticed effort, when coming to Algeria. Trying to move from concern about domestic stability to an active engagement in the African continent, Algeria aims at presenting itself to the continent as a model of democracy and reconciliation and a bridge that connects Africa to Europe. Both Algeria and Libya seem to see in the African continent a promising arena for building a leading regional role compared to the Arab world.

Apart from these foreign policy objectives and given their dual Arab African identity, countries of North Africa have, and are expected to, foster Afro-Arab cooperation. Egypt took the lead in this regard by hosting the first Afro-Arab summit in 1977. Little has been done in this field since then. Recent efforts to revive the institutions of Afro-Arab cooperation, including the resolutions of different Arab summits in the last few years to prepare for holding the second Afro-Arab summit,  may steer the stalled process.

Linkages between north and sub-Saharan African countries are not confined to the governmental level. Organizations like the African Society and the Afro-Asian Peoples’ solidarity Organization in Cairo provided venues for societal interaction between north and sub-Saharan Africa. A number of private companies from North Africa invest in Sub-Saharan countries. Libyan investments in Africa, for instance, have risen dramatically in the last decade to reach about $ 8 billion according to some sources.

However, the role of the North African countries in Africa and its regional integration projects raises a number of issues.  Organizations that link north and sub-Saharan Africa have sometimes contributed to building trust between its members. This does not however prevent the clash of interests between member countries. To mention one example, recent disagreement between Egypt and a number of Nile basin countries prevented the conclusion of a new agreement to replace past colonial treaties on the Nile Basin. Accordingly, the effectiveness of the North African countries’ role in African organizations needs to be evaluated.

North African countries have also participated in the design of the rules that govern the pan-African institutions and initiatives. However, the extent to which these countries abide by these rules is debatable.  The most problematic of these rules are those related to democracy and good governance. If Algeria and Egypt are two of the five founding countries of NEPAD and its mechanism for reviewing good governance, the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), one needs to examine the extent to which the two countries abide by the mechanism’s principles. This query applies to other North African countries which signed the constitutive act of the African Union which emphasized the centrality of democracy and good governance principles. Libya, for instance, has a dubious stance from these principles considering them as western colonial values and emphasizing the particularity of the African continent in the application of these principles. Mauritania has witnessed several military coups in the last few years in violation of the AU’s principle of rejecting the unconstitutional changes of government.

This is not to deny that North African countries have made remarkable progress in some areas of governance and development. For example, in spite of the authoritarian nature of its political system, the Tunisian experience in women empowerment is often referred to as a successful one. Generally North African countries outperform many African countries in terms of economic development. Accordingly, the areas in which North Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa can provide successful stories for mutual learning are worth examining.      
Also noteworthy is the fact that regional blocs in both north and sub-Saharan Africa are connected by economic, political and military links with international powers. Such connections sometimes link, but often separate, north from sub-Saharan Africa. For instance, the North African region has become closely linked to the Sahel and horn of Africa in the American-led war on terror. It is in this context that the U.S negotiated with different North African countries hosting the United States Africa Command- AFRICOM. In its political and economic relationships with Africa, the European Union cooperates with the North African countries through the Euro-Mediterranean partnership and works with Sub-Saharan Africa through the ACP-EU partnership. This raises questions about the impact of arrangements with international powers on the linkages between north and Sub-Saharan Africa.

Scope of the Project

Against this background, the Africa Institute of South Africa (AISA) is undertaking a research project to examine the realities and prospects of North African countries’ engagement in Africa and its regional integration projects. This project is one of the activities of AISA to establish ties and partnerships with institutions and researchers from North African countries. AISA seeks to commission papers that cover the following aspects in the six main North African countries: Egypt, Libya, Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, and Mauritania;

The Role of North African countries in African Regional Organization: An Appraisal
Literature on the role of North African countries in African integration has often focused on the historical role of countries like Egypt in supporting liberation movements and fostering pan-Africanism in the nineteen fifties and sixties. But on what new basis does the role of the North African countries in African regional integration rest? How can the experience of the North African countries engagement in African regional and sub-regional organizations be evaluated? And to what extent have the sub-regional organizations that include in its membership north and sub-Saharan African countries, like the CEN-SAD, intensified the connections between these countries?
The papers included in this aspect should contribute to the literature by a) transcending the descriptive narratives about the participation of the North African countries in Africa’s regional and sub-regional organizations to present an evaluative account for this participation and a policy-oriented vision to develop the engagement of these countries in these organizations, and b) including the perceptions of sub-Saharan African countries. Accordingly, in addition to authors from North African countries, contributions from researchers from other African countries are sought to represent the expectations of other countries in the continent.

North Africa in Africa: The Role of non-state actors
Developing regional relationships does not depend solely on the role of governments. The extent to which business communities, political parties, non-governmental organization, universities and research institutions from North Africa are connected to their counterparts in sub-Saharan Africa is under-researched. This comes in spite of the fact that non-state actors from North and Sub-Saharan Africa have a lot of experiences and best practices to share.
The papers that cover this aspect are required to evaluate the connections at the societal level, present case studies of partnerships and explore the prospects of cooperation.

North Africa and Afro-Arab cooperation
Afro-Arab cooperation focused in the nineteen fifties and sixties on mutual support in the struggle against colonialism and apartheid. Different crises in the last few years have created dilemmas but also necessitated the revival of this cooperation in some areas. The conflict in Darfur, which is mistakenly described as one between African and Arabs, is just one example. Also problematic is the fact that while Egypt, Algeria and Libya strongly stand for the revival of Afro-Arab cooperation, Morocco has some reservations given the stance of the African Union on the Western Sahara issue.  
The papers that address this aspect are expected to explore the common issues and areas of cooperation that can provide bases for a vibrant and sustainable Afro-Arab cooperation in the twenty-first century and the role that the North African countries can play in this regard.

International Powers and North-Sub Saharan Cooperation in Africa
Both western and emerging powers have developed frameworks of cooperation with the African continent. What is the impact of these cooperative frameworks on the North-Sub-Saharan connections? And what is the level of coordination between regional powers of the different regions of the continent towards the military, political and economic policies of the U.S, the EU and the rising Asian powers towards Africa?

North African countries and the Rules of African Integration: shortfalls and successful stories? 
Africa has developed over the last decade new rules for continental integration. The AU constitution, different documents of NEPAD and the CSSDCA give special attention to principles of democracy, good governance, peace and reconciliation, and partnership between the state, private sector and civil society. Mechanisms have been developed to evaluate African countries’ performance in these areas and help sharing best practices. What have the North African countries achieved in these areas? What lessons can be learned from their experience? And what can they learn from Sub-Saharan Africa?

Individuals/ institutions interested in participating in this project by authoring a paper that addresses any of the research questions above in a single case study or by using a comparative methodology can send an abstract (maximum of 1000 words) before the end of October 2009 to Rawia M.Tawfik Amer, the project’s coordinator at rawiaa@ai.org.za.  Authors of selected abstracts are required to present a high-quality, well-documented paper no later than the end of January 2010. Detailed terms of reference will be sent to authors once their abstracts have been reviewed and approved. The papers will be published in an edited volume by the African Institute of South Africa. An appropriate honorarium will be paid to paper writers upon completion of their work and acceptance of their papers for publishing. Abstracts and papers should preferbaly be in English. French or Arabic abstracts and papers will also be accepted.