North Africa: can common security challenges promote regional integration?

in: Adebusuyi Adeniran / Lanrre Ikuteyijo (eds.), Africa now! Emerging isues and alternative perspective, Berlin, London: Springer Nature on behalf of Palgrave Macmillan, 293-320

ISBN: 978-3-31962-442-6
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North African countries have been facing ever-increasing security challenges, especially after the popular uprisings in 2011. This chapter argues that in spite of these challenges, the region still lacks the necessary conditions to strengthen security and developmental interdependence compared to other parts of the continent. It illustrates that the states in the region are cooperating more with international powers that are eager to intervene directly to manage conflicts in North Africa, rather than to delegate the responsibility of this management to regional powers. Given the continuation of the long-standing tension between Algeria and Morocco, there is no single regional hegemon, or a group of states, that are ready to lead the process of transforming regional organizations, carry a disproportionate share of maintaining them, and work to achieve regional consensus. Resolving the historical tensions between Morocco and Algeria, investing in a sub-regional organization that could provide a framework for security and economic cooperation, and supporting building state institutions in Libya are key to fostering security and developmental integration in the region.