Prospects of Energy Led Integration in the Horn of Africa: Opportunities and Challenges
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Date
2021-07
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Addis ababa university
Abstract
Among different areas of regional economic cooperation, energy led cooperation has been shown in different parts of the world. Since recently, it has been also noticed in different parts of Africa including the Horn of Africa region (hereafter HoA). Energy cooperation in the HoA has been seen as a good move to promote relations between countries in the region and the regional economic integration in various forms. This study has three separate but interrelated objectives. Firstly, it highlights the energy resource potential of the HoA region and rationales for the regional energy cooperation initiatives. Secondly, assess the prospects of energy led integartion in the HoA by examining the current status of energy led cooperation schemes in the region and opportunities surrounding it. Thirdly, the paper discusses the key challenges of energy led integration in the HoA. The study uses both primary and secondary data. To substantiate the analysis, theories such as Institutional Liberalism, Functionalism, Neo-Functionalism, and Political Realism were utilized. In addition to theories, the study employed the political economy approach in order to examine the political economic factors at various levels that frustrate energy led cooperation as well as future integartion in the region. As a final point, the study tends to conclude that energy cooperation schemes in the HoA are increasing from time to time and have a good prospect for further regional energy integration. Thus, the existing energy led cooperation in the region is incrementally and functionally becoming more in line with theories liberalism, functionalism and neo-functionalism. However, it also asserts, for example, that political instability of the region, lack of trust among countries, geopolitics of the HoA region and hydro politics of the Eastern Nile basin inform political realism is also important to explain the politics of integration/disintegration in the region. Moreover, shortage of generation capacity and weak energy infrastructures, political economic dynamics at national, regional, and international level are key barriers to the existing regional energy integration process.
Key words: Energy, Horn of Africa, Cooperation, Integration, Interconnection
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Keywords
Energy, Horn of Africa, Cooperation, Integration, Interconnection