ECOWAS and the Covid-19 Pandemic: Regional Responses and African Interregional Cooperation

Abstract

Inspired by recent blog posts on the regional dimension of responses to the current pandemic of the Coronavirus disease (Covid-19), this paper by Jens Herpolsheimer echoes the warning against methodological nationalism and the neglecting of regional and interregional dimensions in the responses to the crisis. It focuses on Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) as an example of one of the Regional Economic Communities (RECs) that have remained rather ignored by scholars compared to the attention paid to the African Union, especially with regard to the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA) but also to other fields of cooperation, such as health.

Biographical Note

Jens Herpolsheimer (SFB 1199 & Leipzig University)

Jens Herpolsheimer studied African Studies in Leipzig, Bordeaux, and Lisbon. Subsequently, continuing research initiated during his master’s, he worked on cooperation dynamics at the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries (CPLP). Since 2016, he is a researcher at the Collaborative Research Centre (SFB 1199) “Processes of Spatialization under the Global Condition”, at Leipzig University. In this context, he has completed his PhD, focusing on intervention practices of African regional organizations and their spatializing effects. Since January 2020, Jens Herpolsheimer is a postdoctoral researcher at the SFB 1199, studying the practices of inter-regionalism between different actors at African regional organizations and the European Union. These issues reflect his more general research interests, among other things, including the politics and practices of peace and security in Africa, Lusophony, and comparative regionalism.