Africa

The Repository contains cases, documents, bibliographies and materials on International Economic Law relating to Africa and the Global South with a view to making these materials easily and freely accessible. At the moment, the repository contains cases from the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa, (COMESA), Court of Justice cases as well as an extensive summary of Africa's regional and sub-regional international economic regimes. Afronomicslaw.org invites our readers to contribute towards building this repository by proposing and submitting bibliographies particularly of materials of international economic law and international law that concern and relate to Africa and the Global South. The justifications for this repository include making these materials easily accessible and available especially in resource constrained environments. In addition, the repository is consistent with a major Afronomicslaw.org goals of: (i) centering and amplifying the scholarship that is excluded in the canon of international law in the most widely read publications; and (ii), producing content to overcome barriers to access such as cost of printed materials, paywalls and stringent intellectual property rights protections.

Professor Kofi Kufuor, in his recent book on the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), dedicates a chapter to African sub-national governments (SNGs), cities and the AfCFTA (generally see Kufuor, 2024: chapter 6, 148-160). In this chapter, Kufuor makes a compelling observation that cities and sub-national governments (SNGs) are absent from the AfCFTA complex (Kufuor, 2024: 148). He proceeds to explain this absence and the need for their inclusion. This review critically reflects on Kufuor's assessment, drawing on the emerging literature on paradiplomacy in the African context and the engagement of SNGs and cities with integration in Africa.

The AfCFTA, which aims at setting up a single market for goods and services ‘from Cairo to Cape Town’, is the subject of the eloquent monograph written by Professor Kufuor. The author, a well-known scholar on African legal affairs, has published extensively, inter alia, on world trade, on (the problems of) African integration and on RECs. Therefore, he is eminently qualified to write about the pan-African ‘Trading Order’.

This report sheds new light on a critically overlooked dimension of Africa’s sovereign debt landscape—the transaction costs incurred through the use of intermediaries in debt restructuring processes. This report breaks new ground by exploring the charges, expenses, and costs arising from third-party intermediaries' participation and the broader implications these costs pose for debt sustainability across the continent.

Creditors’ motivations appear to be mixed. While reputational benefits and international commitments are primary drivers, more pragmatic interests, such asthe opportunity to redeem discounted loans above market rates, also play a role. Asignificant finding is that most respondents feel their countries lack agency in DNS operations. The survey also indicates skepticism about DNS’s effectiveness inreducing sovereign debt, although respondents acknowledge its potential foraddressing environmental challenges. Transparency emerges as a major concern. Respondents consistently describe DNS transactions as opaque or minimally transparent, with local communities rarely, if ever, involved in the process. While DNS is not widely endorsed as either a preferred debt restructuring tool or climate finance mechanism, respondents do recognize its limited but meaningful role, particularly in environmental initiatives.

This report critically examines the trends and drivers of the debt-for-nature swap (DNS) in Africa, including its design frameworks, challenges, and potential, as currently implemented, and outlines the specific design principles for a fit-for-Africa DNS.

Le Forum académique d’Afronomicslaw est un réseau réunissant des étudiant.e.s, de jeunes chercheur.euse.s ainsi que des praticien.ne.s en début de carrière, animé.e.s par un intérêt marqué pour le droit international économique appliqué à l’Afrique et au Sud global. À travers un programme annuel structuré, le Forum propose un large éventail d’activités destinées à favoriser l’épanouissement intellectuel et professionnel de ses membres. Dans ce cadre, le Bureau Exécutif pour l’Afrique de l’Ouest, instance dirigeante du Forum dans la région, lance un appel à candidatures en vue de constituer sa deuxième cohorte.

The Afronomicslaw Academic Forum is a network of students, early-career researchers, and early-career practitioners interested in International Economic Law as it relates to Africa and the Global South. The Forum coordinates a wide range of activities to support the professional development of members over the course of one (1) year. The West African Executive Board, which is the leadership of the Forum in West Africa, is looking for students, early-career researchers, and early-career practitioners from the whole West African region who are passionate about international economic law to join the Forum as part of its second cohort.

The rise of Trump is beneficial for Africa. This forms the basis of my argument. Many African nations have grounded their foreign relations in misleading principles. Liberals often appeal to pity, proclaiming, “Oh, we are here to protect human rights.” Conversely, China states, “We are here for deals.” This reflects my perspective. If Africa shifts from this false idealism and adopts a pragmatic approach, it can forge beneficial agreements with the USA, China, and Europe. Such agreements should be founded on genuine, tangible values for value. This should be the guiding principle for international trade in Africa.

This report critically explores the IMF’s consumption tax policies and their adverse effects on borrower nations, particularly in Africa and the Global South. It examines how the IMF’s emphasis on consumption taxes like VAT, when used as a tool for revenue mobilization, often leads to regressive outcomes by exacerbating inequality, increasing poverty, and contributing to unsustainable public debt. Through an analysis of the global debt architecture evolution and a review of IMF-backed tax reforms across various regions, the report highlights the disconnect between the IMF’s policy prescriptions and the socio-economic realities of developing countries. The study underscores the need for reforming the international debt architecture to address the negative impacts of these policies and proposes recommendations for more equitable and sustainable debt and tax solutions.