SOS 322 LESSON NOTE 2021

NIGERIA EXTERNAL RELATIONS 

Domestic or Internal Sovereignty

Domestic Sovereignty according to Bodin in Ojo and Amadu (2002 p29) simply means “the absolute authority and perpetual power of a state over its citizens and subjects unrestrained by law”. This definition was given at the time as an insight into the domestic politics of Bodins time and at that time state has unlimited coercive authority over its citizens and subjects. That time was also when the Europe feudal monarchs legitimized absolute powers only enjoyed by them. The Pope as at that time was both the spiritual as well as temporal leader of the Holy Roman Empire. Prior to its logical meaning as at that time Bodin’s notion of sovereignty made no room for the right of the citizens to challenge their rulers. Quite well indeed, the citizens were mere objects and not subjects of their leaders who where answerable only to God, the Supreme Being for their actions. In a nutshell Bodin’s definition gave legitimacy to atrocities of 16 century monarchs against their subjects (Ojo and Amadu, 2002).

Domestic sovereignty according to Fawcett, it is a mere “power and authority of a state over all persons, things and territory within its reach”.

External sovereignty

This is used synonymously with independence, which is only a status symbol in international politics. External sovereignty in this context is all about “independence” as a status which states used to gain membership in international intergovernmental organizations such as Economic Community of West African States(ECOWAS), European Union (EU), United Nations (UN) etc., for instance, Gambia that are small in terms of population of less than half a million, and the United States of America (USA) that are large in population that is close to three hundred million people, are considered to be equal for the purpose of external sovereignty since they are both independent state the idea is in theory not bound by any higher constitutional arrangements outside their own territories. At the United Nations General Assembly, the USA and the Gambia have one equal vote each.

It is a belief that external sovereignty does not mean that a state is free to do what it likes in the international system, or within its territory

 

Nigerian foreign policies (Principles and Policies)

What is foreign policy?

There is no generally agreed decision on the definition of foreign Policy, even though different scholars have attempted to define foreign policy according to their understanding.  In the word of Presthus (1975) Policy is defined as a definite course or method of action selected from among alternatives and in the light of given conditions to guide and usually determine present and future (Obi, 2006).

Policy according to Calvert (1986) is “a continuous process of decisions and their implementation taking place within the organizational structure of a state”. All policy must involve a conscious choice between or among alternatives. The word policy is usually goal oriented and are meant in solving problems.

Foreign Policy according to Modelski (1962) is the system of activities evolved by communities for changing the behavior of other states and for adjusting their own activities to the international environment (Obi, 2006). Another scholar known as Holsti, defined foreign Policy as “the actions of a state towards the external environment and the conditions usually domestic under which these actions are formulated” based on this, foreign policy cannot be formulated in a vacuum, it must has a root or base from the needs of the populace residing in a particular environment.

Northgdge conceptualizes foreign Policy simply as “interplay between the outside and the inside”, while Charles Lerche and Abdul A. maintains that “the foreign policy of a state usually refers to the general principles by which a state governs its reaction to the environment”. According to Millar T. B. “foreign policy is presumably something less than the sum of all policies which have an effect upon a national government’s relations with other national governments.” More so, Joeseph F. views foreign policy as “consisting of decisions and actions which involve to some appreciable extent relations between one state and another.” He further defines foreign policy as a “dynamic process of interaction between the changing domestic demands and support and the changing external circumstances (Anifowese & Enemuo 1999).

Public Policy: The decision to pursue these purposes is political. So is the choice of a means for achieving them. Several alternatives to direct governmental provision of services exist. Government could rely heavily on private resources and incentives to serve their purposes.

Foreign policy means the policy of nurturing and promoting one's national interest while interacting with other countries. Every country decides on the framework of its foreign policy and according to its principles, it takes decisions about how and what kind of transactions it would carry out with other nations.

A nation’s foreign policy is derived with the nation’s perception of its national interest from various perspectives. Therefore foreign policy may be conceptualized as a sort of purposive action that guides and characterize the conducts of sovereign nations in the international system. Foreign policy consists of principles, objectives as well as strategies employed by sovereign states, which guide and characterize their external conducts. Furthermore, it is a the method and strategy adopted by a state in its relationship with other states in the pursuit of its national interest (Asadu, 2014 p. 260).

The Nigerian foreign policy objectives are embedded in the 1999 constitution section 19 which states that the foreign policy objectives shall be:

(a)    promotion and protection of the national interest;

(b)    promotion of African integration and support for African unity;

(c)    promotion of international co-operation for the consolidation of universal peace and respect among all nations and elimination of discrimination in all its manifestations;

(d)   respect for international law and treaty obligations as well as the seeking of settlement of international disputes by negotiation, mediation, arbitration and adjudication; and

(e)    promotion of a just world economic order.

The 3 core beliefs in International Politics:

(1)   State-centrism:  States are the most important actors in world politics.

 

(2)   Internal characteristics of states have important effects on state behavior.  E.g. internal arrangements will impact on the behavior of states.  Democracies work differently than dictatorships.  There are good and bad states:  Good- engage in cooperative foreign policies; Bad – start wars with neighbors; have a tendency to use force to achieve their objectives.

 

(3)   Power considerations vary among states.  Power calculations do not impact the behavior of good states.

The Value of International Relations in a Globalized Society

Although international relations has taken on a new significance because of our increasingly interconnected world, it is certainly not a new concept. Historically, the establishment of treaties between nations served as the earliest form of international relations.

The study and practice of international relations in today’s world is valuable for many reasons:

• International relations promote successful trade policies between nations.
• International relations encourage travel related to business, tourism, and immigration, providing people with opportunities to enhance their lives.
• International relations allows nations to cooperate with one another, pool resources, and share information as a way to face global issues that go beyond any particular country or region. Contemporary global issues include pandemics, terrorism, and the environment.
• International relations advances human culture through cultural exchanges, diplomacy and policy development.

ECOWAS

The economic Community of West African States was established by the Treaty of Lagos signed by fifteen West African Heads of State and Government in May 28 1975. The treaty of Lagos was initially limited to economic cooperation but emerging political events led to its revision and expansion of scope of cooperation in 1993. Cabo Verde joined in 1976 and Mauritania decided to withdraw in 2000 to join the Arab Maghreb Union. The vision of ECOWAS is to its revision and expansion of scope of cooperation and integration, leading to the establishment of an Economic Union in West Africa in order to raise the living standards of its peoples, to maintain and enhance economic stability, foster relations among member States as well as contribute to the progress and development of the African Continent. The Revised Treaty of ECOWAS states the objectives as follows:

§  the harmonization and co-ordination of national policies and the promotion of integration programmes, projects and activities, particularly in food, agriculture and natural resources, industry, transport and communications, energy, trade, money and finance, taxation, economic reform policies, human resources, education, information, culture, science, technology, services, health, tourism, legal matters; 

§  the harmonization and co-ordination of policies for the protection of the environment; 

§  the promotion of the establishment of joint production enterprises;

§  the establishment of a common market;

§  the establishment of an economic union through the adoption of common policies in the economic, financial, social and cultural sectors, and the creation of monetary union.

§  The promotion of joint ventures by private sector enterprises and other economic operators, in particular through the adoption of a regional agreement on cross border investments;

§  The adoption of measures for the integration of the private sectors, particularly the creation of an enabling environment to promote small and medium scale enterprises;

§  The establishment of an enabling legal environment;

§  The harmonization of national investment codes leading to the adoption of a single community investment code;

§  The harmonization of standards and measures; 

§  The promotion of balanced development of the region, paying attention to the special problems of each member state particularly those of landlocked and small island member States;

§  The encouragement and strengthening of relations and the promotion of the flow of information particularly among rural populations, women and youth organizations and socio-professional organizations such as associations of the media, business men and women, workers, and trade unions;

§  The adoption of a community population policy which takes into account the need for a balance between demographic factors and socio-economic development.

§  Any other activity that member states may decide to undertake jointly with a view to attaining community objectives.

§  The organizational structure of ECOWAS consists of the following institutions and specialized agencies:

Institutions:

§  The Authority of Heads of State and Government;

§  The Council of Ministers;

§  The Community Parliament;

§  The Economic and Social Council;

§  The Community of Court of Justice;

§  The ECOWAS Commission;

§  The ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID);

§  The West African Health Organization

§  The inter-Governmental Action Group against Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing in West Africa (GIABA). 

Specialized Agencies:

§  West African Monetary Agency (WAMA)

§  Regional Agency for Agriculture and Food (RAAF)

§  ECOWAS Regional Electricity Regulatory Authority (ERERA)

§  ECOWAS Centre for Renewable Energy and Efficiency (ECREEE)

§  The West African Power Pool (WAPP) ECOWAS BROWN CARD

§  ECOWAS Gender Development  Centre (EGDC)

§  ECOWAS Youth and Sports Development Centre (EYSDC)

§  West African Monetary Institute (WAMI)

§  ECOWAS infrastructure Projects Preparation and Development Unit (PPDU)

§  The member States of ECOWAS are: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Cote d’Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo. https://www.uneca.org/oria/pages/ecowas-economic-community-west-african-states