Regionalism and development strategies in Africa. The implications and challenges of the cotonou agreement and NEPAD

© 2005, Universidad de Huelva. All rights reserved. The ongoing debates about development paths on the African continent reproduce the same old discussion among development theoreticians, as to the dichotomy between outward-oriented and self-reliant models. Concurrently, in recent years Africa has witnessed dramatic economic and political transformations, at the both international and continental levels, leading to a significantly different scenario. It is within this framework that new initiatives, such as the Cotonou Agreement and the NEPAD, should be analysed. Taking into account the implications of this new scenario and these projects to African regional integration processes, in this paper we attempt to analyse the preeminence of the same old debate between outward-oriented and self-reliant models, and so contribute to the discussion on the pros and cons of these new initiatives for the promotion of development in the continent.