Globalization, Regionalization and Information-Communication Convergence of Africa

Globalization is characterized by many accomplishments of the world economy: from regional trade agreements proliferation to the acceptance of international standards. One way of integrating Africa into globalization trends is through regional integrations. However, Africa's dependence upon its colonial leaders has not reflected well on the process of regional integration. Regionalism in Africa was led by public sector organizations and it was done without the public support and the support of private sector. Information-communication technology represents another limiting factor to Africa's integration into the globalization and regionalization processes. This paper analyses Africa's position in the global economy and the level of involvement in regionalization trends. Special focus is given to the analyses of the role of information-communication technology in a successful development of Africa and its inclusion into the global trends. Classification-ACM-1998: J.4 [Computer Applications]; Social and behavioral sciences - Sociology