ECOWAS Policy Analysis Series (EPAS)

As the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) commemorates its golden jubilee in 2025, this milestone offers an important moment for reflection. Through 14 policy papers spanning 11 thematic areas including governance, trade, peace and security, climate, and gender, the ECOWAS Policy Analysis Series (EPAS) provides rigorous, African-led analyses of ECOWAS’s evolution over the last decades. Bringing African scholars, young academics and practitioners to the centre of this conversation, they highlight the bloc’s achievements while critically examining the challenges that continue to shape its relevance and effectiveness. More importantly, EPAS reassesses ECOWAS’s role in a shifting geopolitical order, calling for more cohesion, citizen engagement, and collective self-reliance as guiding principles for West Africa’s regional integration in the decades ahead.

The series is coordinated by APRI as part of the Support to the ECOWAS Commission on Organisational Development project. This project is implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH on behalf of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).

As ECOWAS marks its golden jubilee, this series examines its strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities, offering ways to navigate a rapidly changing context and strengthen regional cooperation.

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External geopolitical forces influence ECOWAS's regional integration efforts, strengthening some sectors while fueling internal fragmentation and weakening collective decision-making.

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This publication outlines a pragmatic roadmap to turn West Africa’s vast mineral wealth into a trillion-dollar industry—grounded in transparency, regional collaboration, and industrialization that serves the people, not just profit.

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Drawing on past experiences and current geopolitical shifts, the brief argues for strategic ECOWAS-AU cooperation and ECOWAS securing a stronger voice in global peace efforts.

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West Africa's infrastructure deficit, particularly in energy, transport, ICT, and water, impedes economic growth and regional integration, despite ECOWAS's Vision 2050. Challenges include corruption, fragmented regulations, and financing.

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This paper calls for ECOWAS to rethink its approach to engaging with external partners. To regain credibility among West African citizens, the organisation must align economic structural transformation with economic sovereignty.

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Recent health crises like Ebola and COVID-19 have revealed cracks in the system—particularly around digital identity and health credential verification. As the region looks to the future, digital ID interoperability and unified vaccine certificates can restore trust and resilience in cross-border mobility.

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This publication explores the critical gaps in disability inclusion within ECOWAS’s peace, security, and development frameworks. Although a Regional Action Plan exists, it remains underfunded and disconnected from core ECOWAS frameworks.

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ECOWAS’s efforts to promote the free movement of people and goods have yielded significant benefits. Yet, the lack of implementation, regional fragmentation, and changes in the geopolitical landscape have brought these achievements into sharper focus.

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By integrating feminist principles and partnering with women's organizations, ECOWAS can move beyond superficial gender engagement to tackle inequality, exclusion, and patriarchal power structures.

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As a foundation regional bloc in Africa, ECOWAS promotes integration and good governance. Yet, reliance on foreign support and limited legitimacy among actors hinder its ability to counter threats to West African security and stability.

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ECOWAS can utilize climate agreements, gender directives, and mineral strategy to prevent West African marginalization, address gendered climate impacts, and secure equitable green transition benefits.

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High unemployment and insecurity drive West African youth emigration. This paper examines how ECOWAS and Nigeria address this challenge.

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This paper explores how ECOWAS can unlock regional prosperity through an integrated gas infrastructure strategy by proposing innovative financing, governance, and policy frameworks.

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