Call for papers ‘The African Union and African Economic Community: Territorial and economic arrangements for peace in Africa’
Geographies for Peace
2017 IGU-UGI Thematic Conference
23-25 April 2017
La Paz, Bolivia
The African Union and African Economic Community: Territorial and economic arrangements for peace in Africa
Concerned with the plight of especially women and children as major victims of wars, civil conflicts, human rights violations, humanitarian disasters, gender-based violence and violent conflicts, and genocide, the African Union (AU) has committed to speeding-up actions that will “silence the guns by 2020” in its Agenda 2063, in order to make peace a reality for all people in Africa. This resonates with sustainable development goals (SDGs) 5 and 16 to achieve gender equality and promote peace, justice and strong institutions for development. These attempts conform with the AU’s plans to establish a continental free trade area (CFTA) in 2017. The CFTA should lead to the establishment of the African Economic Community (AEC) in 2028, according to the Abuja Treaty for the Establishment of the AEC. Besides low intra-regional trade, persistent war and conflict are commonly cited as a major reason and evidence of the failure of regional integration, in Africa at least. In this regard, a connection exists between conflict on the one hand and regional integration and peace on the other, based on the understanding that peace is essential to unimpeded trade, development and inter-state cooperation. Against this background and in this CFP, we invite papers that interrogate these themes as well as topics including, but not limited to:
How does obsessive regard for territorial sovereignty impact on the readiness and the extent to which the supranational AU, the AU Commission (AUC) and respective member states can and intervene in domestic conflicts occurring in African states?
Does the absence of war guarantee a peace that ensures distribution, location and spatial organization of economic activities leading to successful regional integration?
Practically, how can ambitions to establish a single geo- political and economic space from Africa’s tapestry of states, economies, cultures and customs by the AU be translated into a mosaic of grassroots, meso- and macro- level actors committed to peaceful coexistence?
Contact:
Dr. Christopher Changwe Nshimbi (University of Pretoria, South Africa)
csnzed@gmail.com
Dr. Inocent Moyo (University of Zululand, South Africa)
minnoxa@yahoo.com
An abstract of no more than 250 words in English or Spanish should be sent to csnzed@gmail.com and minnoxa@yahoo.com and geographiesforpeace@gmail.com on or before 1 December 2016.
For more information on the conference visit the website here.
