The Arab Maghreb Union (AMU) and Regionalism in North Africa: Challenges and Prospects

Abstract

Regionalism is seen as a useful formula for dealing with new challenges in the international system today because it
brings about the opportunity to improve cooperation and cohesion among countries within a region or sub-region.
North Africa represents a shining example of a region that has strong geographical, religious, socio-cultural, and
language affinities. It was this belief in regional unity that made the Algerian, Libyan, Mauritanian, Moroccan and
Tunisian Heads of States to form the Arab Maghreb Union (AMU) in 1989, with the objectives of establishing, among
other things, friendly relations with member countries, free mobility of people and creating a common market. Thirtyfive years after the emergence of AMU, North Africa has yet to find its way to deeper integration. The region ranks
near the bottom when it comes to regional economic cooperation. This study aims to analyze the reasons why AMU
has yet to reach the proposed levels of integration that the founding fathers envisioned. The study is qualitative,
utilizing mostly secondary sources of data such as books, journals, newspaper articles, and conference papers, among
others. The findings of the study reveal that North Africa's trade volume with Europe is higher than the volumes that
occur among themselves and that individual countries in the north are increasingly turning their attention towards
sub-Saharan Africa. The study concludes by recommending, among other things, that the issue of Western Sahara
must be resolved to enable the free movement of people and goods from Algeria to Morocco and other member states;
the security challenge can be stabilized through prompt regional exchange of information in order to create a safer
region for more direct foreign investment.