Nation-states and the challenges of regional integration in West Africa - the case of Gambia

The central position of the Gambia inside the territory of Senegal, which it cuts almost in two, represents one of the main challenges that both countries must address before thinking of any integration within the larger space of ECOWAS. This is why relations between the Gambia and Senegal were the main theme of topics presented at the national seminar held during two days in Banjul, namely the contradiction of two States sharing the same culture on both sides of their common borders.
The seminar held in the Gambia was one of a series of national policy research dialogues, organized between 2005 and 2008 by the Social and Human Sciences Sector of UNESCO, with a view to bringing decision-makers, academics, civil society and others actors together to think about regional integration. Research must proceed and continue alongside the concrete process of making integration happen on the ground.