Afrika'da ortak kimlik inşaası: Afrika bölgesel organizasyonların rolü

A growing body of literature has revealed the multifaceted ways in which regional organizations especially the EU construct a sense of collective identity among members. However, relatively little is known about the African case with respect to how its regional organizations construct an identity. Significantly, the literature on regionalism and identity-building have stressed four main ways in which regional organizations construct a collective identity. Using the African Union and ECOWAS as case studies, the study comparatively examines how shared values, membership debates, formal institutions and cultural cooperation shape collectively the identity of member states in African regional bodies. Under each theme are plausible propositions, advancing the notion of how identity building occurs within these regional organizations. The study also highlights the impact of institutional size in the construction of identity between the AU and ECOWAS. Overall, the research identifies that regional organizations in Africa have shaped the identity of their members along those themes, particularly with ECOWAS a sub-regional body whose relatively small size has allowed it to be more proactive in identity building than the AU which is largely Africa's continental organization.