Toni Haastrup, LuÃs Mah, and Niall Duggan (eds.) 2021. The Routledge Handbook of EUâAfrica Relations. Abingdon, New York NY: Routledge, XXVIII + 368 pp. ISBN 978-1-138-04730-3 (hbk), £190; ISBN 978-1-315-17091-6 (ebk), £29.99.
The intellectual point of departure of this handbook is the overtly Eurocentric nature of the mainstream literature on the relations between the European Union (EU) and Africa. Much of the related scholarship, the editors argue in the preface to the volume, âcontinues to place the EU materially and normatively in a hegemonic position over Africaâ (p. XXIII).4 Therefore, the editors aim at approaching the various legacies of Europeâs colonial rule over most parts of Africa from a post-colonial perspective. However, the individual
The handbook is structured into 5 parts and 27 chapters. In the first part, âTheorising AfricaâEU Relations through Historyâ, following an introduction by Toni Haastrup, three perspectives are discussed (Chapters 1â3): the place of EUâAfrica relations in political science international relations literature seen from a constructivist angle (Olukayode A. Faleye, Iyamho); the study of the relation between the two continents through the lens of regionalism and interregionalism (Frank Mattheis, Brussels); and post-colonialism (Rahel Weldeab Sebhatu, Malmö).
The second part, âEvolving Governance in EUâAfrica Relationsâ, introduced by Mary Farrell (Plymouth), is made up of six chapters (Chapters 4â9), starting with a historical account of the main legal frameworks that govern relations between the EU and African states, from the Rome Treaty (1957â1963), the Yaoundé Convention (1963â1975) and Lomé Convention (1975â2000) to the Cotonou Agreement (2000â2020) (António Raimundo, Lisbon). This is followed by a chapter on EU foreign policy-making from the 1993 European Security Strategy to the 2016 EU Global Strategy (Lesley Masters, Derby, and Chris Landsberg, Johannesburg). Next, the European External Action Service (Nele Marianne Ewers-Peters, Baltimore) and the European Neighbourhood Policy in the South Mediterranean (Anthony Costello, Liverpool) are introduced. The last two chapters of part 2 discuss the evolution of the Joint AfricaâEU Strategy (2007â 2020) (Fergus Kell and Alex Vines, both London) as well as the role of the African Union in the relationship between the two neighbouring continents (John Akokpari and Primrose Z.J. Bimha, both Cape Town).
Part 3, âIssues in EUâAfrica Relationsâ, is introduced by Nicoletta Pirozzi and Bernardo Venturi (both Rome). It comprises seven chapters (Chapters 10â16), dealing with EU development cooperation with Africa (Sarah Delputte and Jan Orbie, both Ghent); democracy and human rights promotion (Edalina Rodrigues Sanches, Lisbon); peace and security (Ueli Staeger, Geneva, and Tshepo T. Gwatiwa, Johannesburg); regional integration (Giulia Piccolino, Loughborough), interregionalism and bilateralism (Andrzej Polus, WrocÅaw); trade and the rather infamous Economic Partnership Agreements (Victor Adetula, Uppsala, and Chike Osegbue, Igbariam); as well as cooperation in the field of science, technology, and innovation (John Ouma-Mugabe and Petronella Chaminuka, both Pretoria).
Part 4, âExternal Actors in Africaâs International Politics and the AfricaâEuropean Union Relationshipâ, is introduced by Andrew Cottey (Cork). It comes in four chapters (Chapters 17â20), which cover the United Nations (Norman
The final part 5, âOpportunities to Cooperate on New Global Challengesâ, is introduced by Asteris Huliaras (Tripolis) and Sophia Kalantzakos (Abu Dhabi). It brings together five chapters (Chapters 21â25). The topics discussed include migration across the Mediterranean (Ana Paula Moreira Rodriguez Leite, Thauan Santos, and Daniele DionÃsio da Silva, all Rio de Janeiro), environment and climate change (Simon Lightfoot, Leeds), civil society (Uzoamaka Madu, Brussels), agriculture and land (Edward Lahiff, Cork), and gender (Laura Davis, Brussels). This is followed by the editorsâ conclusions.
To start with, this is a thematically broad, empirically rich, well-researched, and extremely useful handbook. The editors have managed to put together a comprehensive guide to EUâAfrica relations. Editing such a handbook is a brave undertaking, which can easily be criticised from two interrelated choices the editors had to make: the volume could bring together either too many or not enough perspectives. Given the nature of the publication strategies of the big publishing companies, such as Routledge, Palgrave, or Oxford University Press, some overlap with competing projects cannot be avoided (mainly with The Palgrave Handbook of Africa and the Changing Global Order, published in 2022),5 and at the same time, there are obvious thematic gaps. But it would be pointless to overemphasise this issue, although topics such as energy, health, infrastructure, African policy-making in EU institutions, the African diaspora in many places across Europe, varied interests and policies of EU member states vis-Ã -vis the African continent, etc. could have added to the bigger picture.
Interestingly, the editorsâ framing of the long-standing relationship between the two continents is juxtaposing the European Union, and not âEuropeâ, with âAfricaâ,not the African Union. While in real politics, the absence of Morocco from the AU, until January 2017, was the reason for labelling the summits between the two organisations âEUâAfricaâ, the editorsâ epistemological reasoning for this preference is less clear. One reason seems to be institutional: the volume is published as part of the Routledge handbook series Europe in the World, concentrating on EU regional relations (the seriesâ editor is Wei Shen, previously the EU Jean Monnet chair at Lancaster University, now at Deakin University in Melbourne).
One effect of bringing together perspectives on the relations between the EU, an intergovernmental-cum-supranational organisation, and Africa
Nevertheless, this handbook is a welcome and timely contribution to debates on African agency, multilateralism, the future of regionalism, and the changing nature of the global condition (or world order). Most chapters are well researched and, despite the above critique, the editors must be applauded for bringing together a fascinating array of intellectual perspectives.
Toni Haastrup is a senior lecturer in international politics at the University of Stirling in Scotland, United Kingdom; LuÃs Mah is a lecturer in development studies at the Lisbon School of Economics and Management (ISEG), Universidade de Lisboa, Portugal; and Niall Duggan is a lecturer at the Department of Government and Politics at University College Cork, Ireland.
Edited by Samuel O. Oloruntoba and Toyin Falola (Cham: Springer International Publishing, 2022).