This policy research seminar convened about 30 leading practitioners, scholars, and civil society actors to consider region-building and regional integration processes in Africa. The seminar considered four key objectives: first, themes and concepts of region-building and regional integration in Africa and how these have informed approaches to regionalism on the continent; second, the political economy of Africa’s region-building and regional integration efforts, including the roles played by important regional powers, development finance institutions (DFIs), informal networks, and civil society actors; third, the role, challenges, and potential of the African Union (AU) and sub-regional organisations such as the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the East African Community (EAC), the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), and the Arab Maghreb Union (AMU) in promoting region-building and regional integration over the past five decades; and finally, potential lessons for Africa from the comparative experiences of Europe, Southeast Asia, and Latin America
