The meaning and implications of flexibility in African regional trade agreement; consequences for the African continental free trade area (AfCFTA)

Okiche, Arinze Bryan (2023). The meaning and implications of flexibility in African regional trade agreement; consequences for the African continental free trade area (AfCFTA). University of Birmingham. Ph.D.

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Abstract

One of the most important principles that underpin Africa’s trade regionalism is the notion of flexibility. It is often considered as part of the representation of the less explored and distinctive aspects of African approaches to international law and regional integration. The prevailing narratives subsumed in the flexibility paradigm have sought to differentiate African RTAs from their European and North American counterparts by constructing them as ‘flexible legal regimes.' A lot of ideas have been developed under this phrase, but the most problematic has bothered on properly conceptualising essential parts of the institutional and legal aspects of African regional trade agreements (RTAs). Regarding the former, the most established conception of flexibility in the literature uses the term to show that legalisation does not seem to be a concrete strategy for pursuing economic integration in Africa because the treaty commitments and understandings show that rather ‘than being highly legalised regimes, African RTAs are flexible arrangements.’ Thus, the RTAs were designed as ‘flexible regimes of cooperation as opposed to containing rules requiring scrupulous and rigorous adherence.’ However, given that the ‘big’ RTAs in Africa follow the EU model, it is most likely that they are not flexible regimes, at least not by design if legalisation is considered in the context of explaining how international actors design institutions. Legally, African States have equally used flexibility as a basis to justify derogations from treaty obligations. Flexibility in the African parlance seems to sometimes express the contention that African nations have the discretion to implement the provisions of RTAs in the best way it will be most effective, notwithstanding what the treaties themselves provide. This flexibility has been seen as a matter of practicability, synonymous with the distinct ways countries in Africa give effect to or interpret what they expect to achieve from the various RTAs; however, it also problematically suggests a ‘continuous discretion’ on their part in the mode of performance of their international obligations. Hence, the precise meaning of ‘flexible legal regimes’ and its implications remain anything but clear in both the literature and the practice of African States. Consequently, the thesis focuses on conceptualising the meaning of flexibility in the interdisciplinary studies of international law and international relations. By using a theoretical framework developed in these studies, the research seeks to reconsider the prevailing flexibility paradigm of African RTAs. The argument is that although flexibility is one of the most important principles that undermine these RTAs, what it means in relation to the legal and institutional aspects of African trade regionalism is still in need of further investigation. The overall objective is to show how the issues of flexibility have impacted trade cooperation in Africa and how it will potentially impact the implementation of the new African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA).

Type of Work:

Thesis (Doctorates > Ph.D.)

Award Type:

Doctorates > Ph.D.

Supervisor(s):