About the Book
Confronting the Challenges and Prospects in the Creation of a Union of African States in the 21st Century frames the discourse around the important issue of African unification, against the backdrop of the region's political and economic marginalization. Arguably the richest continent in the world, in terms of its abundant untapped natural resources and human capital, it still lags behind the other regions of the world developmentally.Undeniably, Africa is at the crossroads in this millennium, within the context of the powerful events and effects of the "New Globalization." One of the central issues that academics and political actors, interested in African development, must tackle immediately is how to make the region politically and economically relevant in global affairs. These objectives could be attained through continental amalgamation.Accordingly, this book debates and suggests, inter alia, strategies that might advance Africa's unification effort in order to provide the politico-economic clout needed to spur continental development. Further, it argues that such a Union of African States is critical for promoting the "good political life" for all Africans.
About the Author :
E. Ike Udogu is Faculty Fellow and Professor of African, Comparative and International Politics in the Department of Government and Justice Studies at Appalachian State University, Boone, North Carolina, USA.Professor Udogu is the author of the following books: African Renaissance in the Millennium: The Political, Social and Economic Discourses on the Way Forward; African American Politics in Rural America: Theory, Practice, and Case Studies from South Carolina; An African Portrait: A Sociological and Political Fiction; and Nigeria and the Politics of Survival as a Nation-state. He is the editor of Nigeria in the Twenty-First Century: Strategies for Political Stability and Peaceful Coexistence; The Issue of Political Ethnicity in Africa; Democracy and Democratization in Africa: Toward the 21st Century and co-editor of African Mosaic: Political, Social, Economic and Technological Development in the New Millennium. Moreover, he is the author of over 70 articles, book chapters, book reviews, and monographs on African, International and Comparative Politics. He has presented papers, served as chair and discussant, at several national and international conferences.He is a recipient of numerous honors including, but not limited to, the following: National Endowment for the Humanities Fellow; recipient of the 2006 Africa Excellence in Scholarship and Service Award for Outstanding Contributions to Scholarship on Human Rights, Management of Ethnic Diversity, Democracy and Democratization and Peaceful Coexistence in Africa; listed in the 2000 Outstanding Scholars of the Twenty-First Century; Who's Who in American Education and Who's Who in America (2010). He served as Director of Research and Publication, African Studies and Research Forum and President, Association of Third World Studies (ATWS), Inc. He currently serves on the Editorial Board of Southwestern Journal of International Studies, International Journal of Igbo Studies and Journal of African Migration.
Review :
"Confronting the Challenges and Prospects in the Creation of a Union of African States in the 21st Century contextualizes the discourse around the urgent call for African unity that engaged the works of great pan-Africanists such as Du Bois, Garvey, Nkrumah, Kenyatta, Nyerere, Cabral, and a host of others in the twentieth century. This quest for African unity achieved its first historic triumph with the formation of the Organization of African Unity following the attainment of political independence by African states in the 1960s. The establishment of the African Union extended this quest for African unity, even as African states confronted the travails of globalization at the turn-of-the twenty first century. If we expect significant improvement in the conditions of Africans, and hope for the growth of Africa's influence in world affairs, then this timely book contends that progressive African leaders must mobilize their people into action, insisting on a path to Africa's unification during this century. This laudable objective, the author, E. Ike Udogu, a distinguished pan-Africanist intellectual persuasively contends, requires the deep commitment of progressive African leaders, activists, and intellectuals. This is a provocative, incisive, and bold volume. It ought to be read by African administrators, policy makers, diplomats, and students—as well as intelligent lay people who believe in African unity. The book is lucid and analytical. Keeping faith with a great continent, and in indefatigable style, Udogu once again deploys his excellent scholarship in the service of Africa's vibrant societies."—Olufemi Vaughan, DPhil (Oxford), Geoffrey Canada Professor of Africana Studies & History,Director, Africana Studies Program, Bowdoin College, Brunswick, Maine
