“Africa’s Giant” or “Regional Hegemon”? Nigeria’s Ambivalent Role in ECOWAS and the Politics of West African Integration, 1999–2025
Keywords:
Nigeria, ECOWAS, regional hegemony, peacekeeping, West African integration, hegemonic stability theoryAbstract
Nigeria has long been described as the “Giant of Africa,” a status that implies both capability and responsibility for regional leadership. Since the return to civilian rule in 1999, Nigeria has played a central role in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), leading peacekeeping interventions in Liberia, Sierra Leone, and, more recently, The Gambia, while also shaping regional trade negotiations and institutional development. However, Nigeria’s regional leadership has been persistently ambivalent and contested. Smaller West African states have periodically expressed concerns about Nigerian domination, while Nigeria’s own domestic challenges, including insecurity, economic volatility, and political instability, have constrained its capacity for sustained regional engagement. This paper examines the evolution of Nigeria’s role in ECOWAS since 1999, arguing that Nigeria’s regional policy reflects a fundamental tension between hegemonic ambition and domestic constraint. Drawing on hegemonic stability theory and the literature on regional powers, the paper analyses Nigeria’s contributions to ECOWAS peacekeeping, its influence over regional trade negotiations, and the domestic political and economic factors that have shaped its regional engagement. The study contributes to debates on regionalism, hegemony, and the foreign policy of emerging powers, and offers a framework for understanding the conditions under which regional powers can translate potential into effective leadership.
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