The emergence of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the limits of the paradigms of international politics

The article tests the most important paradigms of international politics against the emergence of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to ascertain whether such paradigms explain the emergence of this entity. The findings suggest that none of the paradigms satisfactorily explains the emergence of ECOWAS as either a general community or as a security community. Although liberalism and constructivism, in general, offer more elaborate theories of security communities, their explanations for the emergence of ECOWAS are faced with insurmountable obstacles. Despite limitations, the theoretical framework of realism constitutes a closer fit. Such a finding runs counter to the general literature about security communities.