March 3, 2021
Total trade volumes between African and Caribbean countries remain small, but the potential and opportunities for enhancing trade, investment and economic cooperation between these two regions are encouraging based on shared historical and cultural ties. To this end, the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) has announced steps to formalize relations with the African Union (AU).Several CARICOM countries have also sought to deepen bilateral ties with individual African countries. Africa-Caribbean Economic Relations and cooperation are even more critical now as countries on both sides of the Atlantic aim to kickstart economic recovery following the devastation wrought by the COVID-19 shock. Indeed, vaccine cooperation became another form of Africa-Caribbean cooperation when the AU offered CARICOM access to some of the approved vaccines from a shipment it was receiving.
Given the limited but promising trade and investment relationship between both regions, there is a dearth of scholarly analysis on the Africa-Caribbean economic relationship. This Symposium aims to address this gap in international economic relations scholarship through considered analytical pieces exploring aspects of this understudied relationship.
We invite authors to submit contributions which critically analyze and examine this relationship from a variety of perspectives, including but not limited to:
- Geo-political and economic ties (both historical and present) between these two regions;
- The future of trade and investment relations between both regions in light of WTO-plus mega-regional trade agreements popping up;
- EU-ACP relations e.g. EU-EPAs and issues relating to fragmentation and dilution of negotiating positions by African and Caribbean countries;
- The impact of COVID-19 on the vulnerability of trade and investment regimes in both regions;
- Comparative perspectives from both regions on the role of education in the advancement of critical thought in international economic relations scholarship;
- Comparative perspectives from both regions on the regulation of digital trade/e-commerce;
- Africa-Caribbean collaboration in multilateral fora, e.g., WTO, ACP, Commonwealth, UNCTAD; •
- Comparative perspectives from both regions on approaches to cooperation and regional integration;
- Comparative perspectives from both regions on Sustainable Development, e.g., approaches to mainstreaming regulation of renewable energy, the green and blue economy into trade and investment regimes;
- Air Connectivity/Tourism/Travel Trade, e.g., prospects for promoting leisure and business travel between CARICOM and African countries;
- Cultural Industries collaboration;
- Role of the private sector in shaping future Africa-Caribbean trade and investment relations;
- Investment relations, e.g., opportunities for Africa-Caribbean FDI, cooperation on investment rule-making reform.
Submission Guidelines:
Essays that are submitted as part of this symposium must be analytical and original. Authors must comply with the Afronomicslaw.org blog submission guidelines accessible here. Blogs are to be submitted to afronomicslaw@gmail.com with the title 'African-Caribbean Relations Blog Submission'.
Deadline for Submission of Essays:
June 4, 2021.
Inquiries or clarifications relating to this call should be directed to Ohio Omiunu (ohio.omiunu@dmu.ac.uk) and Alicia Nicholls (alicia.nicholls@cavehill.uwi.edu)