The African Integration

Running head: AFRICAN INTEGRATION 1

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AFRICAN INTEGRATION 2

The African Integration

Integration is not a new subject in history, but it is the path that many countries have

followed to be what they are today. For instance, China has remained unified throughout its

history while the United States which is currently considered a superpower was initially a

collection of loosely connected nations upon gaining independence from Britain. Therefore,

when the idea of creating a United States of Africa get raised, this subject cannot be easily

discarded. This paper will examine the credibility behind the issue of making Africa a single

country that is governed by one constitution.

One of the primary reasons why unified Africa would be plausible is because such an

action ensures that all countries have access to resources thereby bringing up the most

impoverished nations. A majority of these countries gained independence over the last century,

and their standard of living is the lowest across the globe since they have not entirely stabilized

(Harsch, 2012). Most of these challenges are usually attributed to the colonial legacy which did

not promote them economically. However, if these countries come together, they can be able to

enhance their productivity by utilizing the natural resources that they have (Harsch, 2012).

Africa is known to be rich in valuable resources such as minerals, and these can be used to

promote economic development especially in those regions that are lagging behind.

Also, unification of the African countries can play a critical role in enhancing peace and

stability among the war-torn nations. Most of the violence-related issues that are witnessed in

some of the African countries relate to religious and border conflicts. For instance, Kenya and

Uganda have engaged in persistent disputes along their borders in a region known as Migingo,

but if all these nations come together, citizens will be able to live in harmony (Armstrong, 2013).

The block can use a historical scenario between India and Pakistan as a case study whereby in

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the past the Hindus and Muslims engaged in religious conflicts that led to a majority of the

citizens losing their lives (Armstrong, 2013). However, after gaining independence from Britain,

they decided to allow cross-migration, and since then their robust economic fortunes is visible

(Armstrong, 2013). Similarly, if modern African countries could come together, people will learn

to accommodate each other irrespective of their religious affiliation and live in peace. Only

where there exist peace that people can engage economically with each other and improve their

standards of living.

However, against this backdrop, there is a considerable group of analysts who believe

that such an action can only create more economic disparities that it would promote development

for the whole block. This proposition is based on the fact that such calls of unification usually

emanate from African countries with higher GDP such as South Africa and they might have

some hidden agenda to benefit from neocolonialism (Pendleton, 2009). Instead of nations with

stronger countries aiming at promoting poorer ones to evade their economic woes, there are fears

that they will take advantage of the opportunity to exploit their resources for personal benefits

(Pendleton, 2009). Therefore, such arguments claim that integration is not the best option for the

developing nations.

In conclusion, whereas African integration is a subject that requires a deeper analysis,

information presented above clearly proves that the benefits of taking such an action far much

outdo the drawback. Just like any other initiative, the challenge can arise in the process, but they

are not reasons enough to discredit the move since they can be managed.

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References

Armstrong, A. (2013). USA: The United States of Africa – could and should it happen?

Retrieved from http://economicstudents.com/2013/09/usa-the-united-states-of-africa-

could-and-should-it-happen/

Harsch, E. (2012). Making African integration a reality: New strategies aim for public

involvement, practical results. Africa Recovery, 16(3), 1-10

Pendleton, J. (2009). Actions needed to address stakeholder concerns, improve interagency

collaboration and determine costs associated with the U. S. Africa unification.

Collingdale: DIANE Publishing Co.

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