0 reactions
Do people really still want a borderless, united Africa?
In my opinion this is not just a terrible idea, but one that isn’t even necessary for Africa to be a relevant political player on the global stage.
I think 90% of the reason that this is being promoted by some people in the modern day is because of the EU’s Schengen area which is effectively borderless, and the EU more broadly is a common market.
The EU is a very significant outlier that was primarily founded as a way to ensure that European countries were economically co-dependent and would thus not instigate wars with one another, as well as accelerate their economic recoveries after WWII.
There is no similar scheme in Asia, or The Middle East, or Latin America, or between even the most similar nations on earth like the US and Canada or Australia and New Zealand. Why does Africa need one?
ECOWAS allows any citizen of any member country to travel, work, establish businesses, and live in any other ECOWAS state visa free. This has not seemed to helped them at all, in fact, it is the most-fractured regional bloc in the continent. Even the EU didn’t introduce the Schengen Area scheme until just 40 years ago after things had become much more stable.
Allowing Africans to freely move about at current levels of development will actually probably destabilize more countries than it benefits. Labor markets in some cities will be destroyed and locals will be furious, while entire towns in some places will be completely abandoned.
To me it seems like Africa is much better suited to limited mobility while countries continue to develop. Asia today is probably a more realistic example of how Africa will integrate in the future. Broad investment and travel around the continent from major African corporations, but limited intra-regional visa free schemes for 30-90 day tourist travel, plus increased work visa programs open to applicants from around the continent.
#local
source
In my opinion this is not just a terrible idea, but one that isn’t even necessary for Africa to be a relevant political player on the global stage.
I think 90% of the reason that this is being promoted by some people in the modern day is because of the EU’s Schengen area which is effectively borderless, and the EU more broadly is a common market.
The EU is a very significant outlier that was primarily founded as a way to ensure that European countries were economically co-dependent and would thus not instigate wars with one another, as well as accelerate their economic recoveries after WWII.
There is no similar scheme in Asia, or The Middle East, or Latin America, or between even the most similar nations on earth like the US and Canada or Australia and New Zealand. Why does Africa need one?
ECOWAS allows any citizen of any member country to travel, work, establish businesses, and live in any other ECOWAS state visa free. This has not seemed to helped them at all, in fact, it is the most-fractured regional bloc in the continent. Even the EU didn’t introduce the Schengen Area scheme until just 40 years ago after things had become much more stable.
Allowing Africans to freely move about at current levels of development will actually probably destabilize more countries than it benefits. Labor markets in some cities will be destroyed and locals will be furious, while entire towns in some places will be completely abandoned.
To me it seems like Africa is much better suited to limited mobility while countries continue to develop. Asia today is probably a more realistic example of how Africa will integrate in the future. Broad investment and travel around the continent from major African corporations, but limited intra-regional visa free schemes for 30-90 day tourist travel, plus increased work visa programs open to applicants from around the continent.
#local
source
| 4,000 mlx | |
| 5 | |
| 0 |