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Abstract
There is a dearth of literature on the nature and scope of the African Union's New Partnership for Africa's Development (AU/NEPAD) in relation to trends in the international trade system. Available literature concentrates on the neoliberal character of the programme and views it as exposing the uncompetitive African economies to the hostile international economic environment. Contrary to this view, this article argues that AU/NEPAD, because of its three-part approach within contemporary trade trends, could be a viable strategy to promote economic development in the continent. Firstly, AU/NEPAD promotes reformed developmental regionalism, since it combines collective self-reliance of member states with ‘strategic linking’ into the global market. Secondly, it connects strategic linking to new partnerships through plurilateralism, as depicted by the G8 Africa Action Plan. Finally, AU/NEPAD promotes multilateralism through engagements with the World Trade Organisation, the UN and the World Bank.
Notes
1. See NEPAD, http://www.africa-union.org/home/Welcome.htm (date accessed 22 February 2009).
2. Established on 3 July 2001.
3. Devised by Thabo Mbeki of South Africa, Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria and Abdelaziz Bouteflika of Algeria in 2000.
4. Initiated by President Abdoulaye Wade of Senegal in January 2001.
5. NEPAD Policy Document, http://www.avmedia.at/cgi-script/csnews/news_upload/ABOUT_20NEPAD_2edb.WHAT%20is%20NEPAD%20new.pdf (date accessed 12 January 2009).
6. Food and agriculture, industry, human resources, transport and communications environmental protection, science and technology, gender, etc.
7. Old regionalism was most prominent in Latin America and Africa. For more on the history and evolution of regionalism see, Axline, Citation1979 p. 3; Haarlov, Citation1988, pp. 18–20; Blumenfeld, Citation1992 p. 63; CitationClough (ed.) 1982, pp. 161–168; Maarsdorp, Citation1984, p. 39; Nnoli, Citation1986, pp. 61–70; also Lozoya & Cuadra, Citation1980, pp. 5–8.
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11. See the Citation‘Lagos Plan of Action’, 2000.
12. For more initiatives visit ‘The African Union in a Nutshell’, http://www.africa-union.org/home/Welcome.htm (date accessed 24 March 2007).
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31. Multilateralism is defined here as a broad and sustainable consensus among the states of the international system, and especially within bodies such as the WTO.
32. Formed in 2003, comprising a group of 23 developing countries — Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, China, Cuba, Ecuador, Egypt, Guatemala, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, South Africa, Tanzania, Thailand, Uruguay, Venezuela, and Zimbabwe.
33. See Sandery & Jansen, 2007.
34. Formed in 1989, dominated by both the United States and Japan, it links Asian economies to those of North America and the rest of the American countries bordering the Pacific Ocean. It aims at freeing trade and investment the Asia–Pacific region.
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