Overview
Offers a significant and innovative contribution to the study of regionalism, bringing a new perspective on issues that are absent from the extant literature
Provides an important resource for post graduate students in Human Geography, Sociology and Development Studies, Political Science, Political Economy, International Relations, among other academic disciplines
Will also appeal to policy makers in governments, the African Union, Southern African Development Community, and civil society organisations
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Table of contents (8 chapters)
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Front Matter
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Back Matter
Keywords
About this book
This book examines regional integration in Africa, with a particular focus on the Southern African Development Community (SADC). It argues that the SADC’s pursuit of a rationalist and state-centric form of integration for Southern Africa is limited, as it overlooks the contributory role and efficacy of non-state actors, who are relegated to the periphery. The book demonstrates that civil society networks in Southern Africa constitute well-governed, self-organised entities that function just like formal regional arrangements driven by state actors and technocrats. The book amplifies this point by deploying New Institutionalism and the New Regionalism Approach to examine the role and efficacy of non-state actors in building regions from below. The book develops a unique typology that shows how Southern African regional civil society networks adopt strategies, norms and rules to establish an efficient form of alternative integration in the region. Based on a critical analysis of this self-organised regionalism, the book projects the reality that alternative regionalism driven by non-state actors is possible. This book expands the study of regionalism in the SADC, and makes a significant and innovative contribution to the study of contemporary regionalism.
Authors and Affiliations
About the authors
Dr Leon Mwamba Tshimpaka is a researcher for the Study of Governance Innovation (GovInn), Department of Political Sciences, University of Pretoria, South Africa. He researches regional integration and development in Africa, with a specific focus on the SADC region.
Dr Christopher Changwe Nshimbi is Director, Centre for the Study of Governance Innovation (GovInn) and Senior Lecturer, Department of Political Sciences, University of Pretoria. He researches migration, regional integration, the informal economy and water governance and sits on regional and international technical working groups on trade, labour and migration, social cohesion and water.
Dr Inocent Moyo is a Senior Lecturer and Head of the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, University of Zululand, South Africa. He researches borders, migration, development and regional integration, urban and cross border informal economies, with a focus on Africa in general and the SADC region specifically.
Bibliographic Information
Book Title: Regional Economic Communities and Integration in Southern Africa
Book Subtitle: Networks of Civil Society Organizations and Alternative Regionalism
Authors: Leon Mwamba Tshimpaka, Christopher Changwe Nshimbi, Inocent Moyo
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-9388-8
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan Singapore
eBook Packages: Social Sciences, Social Sciences (R0)
Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021
Hardcover ISBN: 978-981-15-9387-1Published: 08 May 2021
Softcover ISBN: 978-981-15-9390-1Published: 09 May 2022
eBook ISBN: 978-981-15-9388-8Published: 07 May 2021
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: XXI, 263
Number of Illustrations: 4 b/w illustrations
Topics: Human Geography, African Politics, Urban Studies/Sociology