Dependency or Cooperation?: Nigeria-South Africa Relations(1960-2007)

Chidozie, Felix (2014) Dependency or Cooperation?: Nigeria-South Africa Relations(1960-2007). ["eprint_fieldopt_thesis_type_phd" not defined] thesis, Covenant University.

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Abstract

The study interrogates the origin, nature and dynamics of the relationship that binds Nigeria with South Africa between 1960 and 2007 in key areas of trade, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), technology transfers and foreign policy issues. In particular, it examines the unsettled exact nature of Nigeria-South Africa relations in the received literature, because of the tendency by scholars to contend that, the relatively fast growing South Africa’s economy has placed it ahead of Nigeria and other African countries. As a consequence, Nigeria is erroneously understood to maintain either a dependent relationship or cooperate, with South Africa. In view of this, the study adopts a Marxian political economy framework which maintains that the underdevelopment and dependency situation of the Third World is due to their integration into the international division of labour. The study engages a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods, while data were gathered from primary and secondary sources. In-depth and unstructured interviews were conducted with selected foreign policy experts in the two countries and a Focused Group Discussion (FGD) was conducted at the University of Pretoria, South Africa, involving a cross section of academia whose research interests are on Nigeria-South Africa relations. The data gathered were evaluated using textual analysis. Findings revealed that the generalization in scholarly works that Nigeria is dependent on South Africa for economic prosperity is flawed. In particular, although South Africa has a relatively bigger economy than Nigeria, especially given the superiority of her technological power; nonetheless, findings revealed that combination of other components of national power can upset that disadvantage. Indeed, the recent GDP rebase in Nigeria has validated this fact. Consequently, the study canvasses the need for both countries to synergize their diverse resources, especially using the instrumentality of the Bi-National Commission (BNC) in other to realize their common goal of continental renaissance. More so, realizing the tension that this partnership will necessarily engender, the study proposes the urgent need for both countries to harmonize, indeed reconcile the contradictions in their foreign policies, accentuated by domestic and external forces, with a view to birthing Africa’s development in a rapidly globalizing world

Item Type:	Thesis (["eprint_fieldopt_thesis_type_phd" not defined])
Subjects:	J Political Science > JA Political science (General) J Political Science > JZ International relations
Divisions:	Faculty of Law, Arts and Social Sciences > School of Social Sciences
Depositing User:	Mr Solomon Bayoko
Date Deposited:	22 Jan 2015 10:59
Last Modified:	22 Jan 2015 10:59
URI:	http://eprints.covenantuniversity.edu.ng/id/eprint/3374

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