Beyond the rhetoric: a theoretical analysis of the effects of neopatrimonialism and intergovernmentalism on the integration process in Africa

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dc.contributor.advisorAkokpari, Johnen_ZA
dc.contributor.authorDuthie, Shawnen_ZA
dc.date.accessioned2014-09-02T09:50:27Z
dc.date.available2014-09-02T09:50:27Z
dc.date.issued2014en_ZA
dc.description.abstractThe Organization of African Unity marked its 50th anniversary in 2013 and, despite the shift to the African Union and continued rhetoric from African leaders about the need for further integration, the progress towards the goal of economic and political integration has been ineffective. This thesis shows that integration has been ineffective in Africa namely because of the lack of political will to push integration further. The reason for this is the prevalence of neopatrimonialism on the continent, which creates a situation where leaders need access to a nation?s resources to remain in power. Economic and political integration will, inevitably, result in a loss of financial or political capital, which will then result in a lack of resources available for the client, who has used these resources to maintain their patronage base. Thus, integration in Africa has progressed slowly, as leaders do what they can to undermine the process while maintaining the appearance of progress. The major option chosen to weaken integration has been to control the institutions of integration run intergovernmentally, rather than transfer some power towards a supranational organisation. Without a transfer of power to a supranational institution, the Regional Economic Communities and African states cannot proceed towards economic, let alone political, integration. The reason for this is that decisions taken in a purely intergovernmental body, such as the African Union, will be of the lowest common denominator, resulting in a slow and ineffective integration. For integration to progress effectively, some powers will first have to be transferred to a supranational institution, which will create more actors that are actively involved in the integration process and make it more difficult for leaders to slow down or stop the move towards African unity.en_ZA
dc.identifier.apacitationDuthie, S. (2014). <i>Beyond the rhetoric: a theoretical analysis of the effects of neopatrimonialism and intergovernmentalism on the integration process in Africa</i>. (Thesis). University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Humanities ,Department of Political Studies. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/11427/6816en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitationDuthie, Shawn. <i>"Beyond the rhetoric: a theoretical analysis of the effects of neopatrimonialism and intergovernmentalism on the integration process in Africa."</i> Thesis., University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Humanities ,Department of Political Studies, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/6816en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationDuthie, S. 2014. Beyond the rhetoric: a theoretical analysis of the effects of neopatrimonialism and intergovernmentalism on the integration process in Africa. University of Cape Town.en_ZA
dc.identifier.ris TY - Thesis / Dissertation AU - Duthie, Shawn AB - The Organization of African Unity marked its 50th anniversary in 2013 and, despite the shift to the African Union and continued rhetoric from African leaders about the need for further integration, the progress towards the goal of economic and political integration has been ineffective. This thesis shows that integration has been ineffective in Africa namely because of the lack of political will to push integration further. The reason for this is the prevalence of neopatrimonialism on the continent, which creates a situation where leaders need access to a nation?s resources to remain in power. Economic and political integration will, inevitably, result in a loss of financial or political capital, which will then result in a lack of resources available for the client, who has used these resources to maintain their patronage base. Thus, integration in Africa has progressed slowly, as leaders do what they can to undermine the process while maintaining the appearance of progress. The major option chosen to weaken integration has been to control the institutions of integration run intergovernmentally, rather than transfer some power towards a supranational organisation. Without a transfer of power to a supranational institution, the Regional Economic Communities and African states cannot proceed towards economic, let alone political, integration. The reason for this is that decisions taken in a purely intergovernmental body, such as the African Union, will be of the lowest common denominator, resulting in a slow and ineffective integration. For integration to progress effectively, some powers will first have to be transferred to a supranational institution, which will create more actors that are actively involved in the integration process and make it more difficult for leaders to slow down or stop the move towards African unity. DA - 2014 DB - OpenUCT DP - University of Cape Town LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PB - University of Cape Town PY - 2014 T1 - Beyond the rhetoric: a theoretical analysis of the effects of neopatrimonialism and intergovernmentalism on the integration process in Africa TI - Beyond the rhetoric: a theoretical analysis of the effects of neopatrimonialism and intergovernmentalism on the integration process in Africa UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/6816 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/6816
dc.identifier.vancouvercitationDuthie S. Beyond the rhetoric: a theoretical analysis of the effects of neopatrimonialism and intergovernmentalism on the integration process in Africa. [Thesis]. University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Humanities ,Department of Political Studies, 2014 [cited yyyy month dd]. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/11427/6816en_ZA
dc.language.isoengen_ZA
dc.publisher.departmentDepartment of Political Studiesen_ZA
dc.publisher.facultyFaculty of Humanitiesen_ZA
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Cape Town
dc.titleBeyond the rhetoric: a theoretical analysis of the effects of neopatrimonialism and intergovernmentalism on the integration process in Africaen_ZA
dc.typeMaster Thesis
dc.type.qualificationlevelMasters
dc.type.qualificationnameMSocScen_ZA
uct.type.filetypeText
uct.type.filetypeImage
uct.type.publicationResearchen_ZA
uct.type.resourceThesisen_ZA
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