Introduction

Abstract

Anyone following international affairs in the post-Cold War era is likely to be struck by the revitalization and proliferation of regionalism in most parts of the world, almost as a new ‘urge to merge’ into regional entities. An enormous number of studies have been produced on the topic, and important advances have been made in order to better understand contemporary regionalism. The simple point of departure for this volume is that there is still a pressing need to learn more about regionalism in general and in Africa in particular.