Long seen as artificial barriers inherited from decolonisation, West African borders now lie at the heart of policies designed to encourage regional trade and combat political instability.

This rediscovery of the peripheries of the nation state has fostered a proliferation of institutional initiatives that aim to cultivate co-operation between countries, regions and municipalities while ensuring the protection and promoting the interests and rights of the people living in border regions. Despite these regional initiatives, the effective functioning of cross-border co-operation still remains largely unknown across West Africa.

The purpose of this paper is to fill that gap, with an analysis of both the social structure and the geography of West African governance networks. On the basis of this structural and geographic analysis, policy recommendations are formulated aimed at implementing policies that are more place-based, more attentive to relations between the actors at play in co-operation, and more specifically adapted to the constraints and opportunities of the West African region.

Executive summary

A great quantity of research has covered the legislative and institutional principles of co-operation, but the structure of the governance networks connecting the organisations and individuals involved in cross-border projects have not yet been discussed in any systematic analysis. Similarly, the geographical character of border zones and the manner in which borders affect the operation of governance networks have also been somewhat neglected, despite their crucial significance in the implementation of cross-border projects.

The purpose of this paper, produced from research conducted by the OECD Sahel and West Africa Club into cross-border co-operation and governance networks in West Africa, is to fill that gap, with an analysis of both the social structure and the geography of West African governance structures. Three political recommendations have been formulated on the basis of an analysis of 137 actors involved in local and regional co-operation.

The analysis suggests, first, that cross-border policies should draw on the considerable diversity of West African regions. These place-based policies should take account of the range of needs, institutional systems and level of development of West African regions and provide public goods adapted to the specific socio-economic challenges of each region. The considerable degree of heterogeneity in West African border zones suggests that investment should be focused on regions which boast the greatest potential, have already set up governance networks or are acknowledged as priority areas by political decision-makers.

The next finding is that the political vision of cross-border co-operation in West Africa draws on two broad integration models: a model inspired by the EU which gives priority to institutional structures, and a model shaped by American influences and focused on interactions between socio-economic actors. In a context typified by both the proliferation of intergovernmental organisations and a preponderance of informal interactions, it is by no means certain that either model is really suited to the opportunities and constraints faced by co-operation actors in West Africa. In the long term, the success of cross-border co-operation will be determined by the adoption of an integration model that is more closely bound to the socio-economic and political specificities of the region.

Last, the research shows that cross-border co-operation ought to be more systematically broached from the point of view of relationships, i.e. by considering the interactions that take place between its actors (information and power networks). Focusing attention solely on the institutional characteristics of regional organisations, countries and local authorities will fail to reveal the way in which cross-border co-operation actually works, whereas its effectiveness often relies on interpersonal relations between actors of very different kinds. The analysis of social networks is therefore a research tool adapted to the understanding of fluid social structures such as the decision-makers involved in cross-border co-operation. The ability to visualise the connections that actually exist in a social group also provides local communities and non-governmental organisations with an empowerment tool and an intervention tool for international organisations and governments.

This kind of approach remains underutilised in development, but could lead to new applications in other fields that are relational in nature, such as trade, migration and conflict, provided that data recording the relationships between social actors are more systematically collected.

This Working Paper is available to download in English and in French.

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Olivier J. Walther is Associate Professor in Political Science at the University of Southern Denmark and a Visiting Professor at the Division of Global Affairs at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. OECD Working Papers do not represent the official views of the OECD or of its member countries. The opinions expressed and arguments employed are those of the author.

The West African Papers series explores African socio-economic, political and security dynamics from a regional and multidisciplinary perspective. It seeks to stimulate discussion and gather information to better anticipate the changes that will shape future policies.