The Influences of Hegemonic Powers and the International Order in West Africa

Abstract

International system has been an arena for political contest and domination for centuries. This is especially true of states within the European international system who had been dominating, through colonialism and imperialism, the global political system for three centuries. Such domination reflects, in the current global system, in the manner some developing countries of the south are continually needing the assistance of the developed states of the North. Thus, the article examines the role of great powers in the international order of West Africa in the post- colonial era. The study employs the use of hegemonic stability theory to examine the role of external powers in the maintenance of order in West Africa. The overall assessment of the involvement of these external state powers in the West Africa sub-region indicates that national interests of each state is the most important variable that propels them to intervene. In addition, the reluctance on the part of states within the region to respond swiftly to regional problems is attributable to global powers’ intervention. In conducting the research, we employed the use of qualitative content analysis to mine data from all available data sources.