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it addressed the problem of the relationship between Africa’s hapless predicament and thestructure of the international system In the paper, I critically examined the orthodox perspectiveson the structure of the contemporary international system and identified their deficiencies. Ihighlighted, in particular, those perspectives that focus on the state as the only basic unit ofanalysis. I then proposed, as a means of overcoming their deficiencies, a re-conceptualization ofthe international system in terms of social forces, social movements and correlation of forces.These concepts, I posited, would provide a useful analytical framework for a deeper and morecomprehensive understanding of the structure of the international system than the traditionalnotions of states, alliances of states and balance of power. Based on the proposed new conceptualframework, I then argued that the predicament of contemporary Africa is best conceived, not interms of marginalization, but in terms of the lack of democracy. Africa’s social, economicand political problems have to be placed in the wider context of the international correlation ofsocial forces and social movements if they are to receive meaningful attention and enduringsolutions. The main reason is that the task of solving those problems actually belongs to thepeople, organized as social forces and social movements. It does not belong to the state, which isdominated by the elite, and which also constitutes a critical part of the problem.My second contribution is in the area of international relations methodology. There are threedimensions of my output in this area. First, is the consistent application of theories to the analysisof international relations: a determination to promote the scientific study of internationalrelations. This earned some of my works the sobriquet, “technical international relations” amongstudents and colleagues. The consequence of this “technicalization” of international relations, asit was described by some , was not always pleasant. At first, some lazy students, especially somesenior staff of the Uniersity who had registered for the course, “Principles of InternationalRelations”, changed to another elective course as soon as I took over the course from my formerteacher, late Dr.Ray Ofoegbu. Bur to the credit of the successive leadership of the Department ofPolitical Science, from 1977 to 2007, I remained the lecturer for he course, even after its titlechanged to “Introduction to International Relations”. My first published work in this area, titled,“Decision-Making Models Revisited” has already been reviewed in this lecture. It is the firstchapter of a book on decision-making process edited by Professors Olusanya and Akinele,former Directors-General of the NIIA. My second published is the first chapter, also, of a new[forth-coming] book on Nigeria’s foreign policy, edited by Professor Bola Akinterinwa. It isentitled, “Nigeria’s National Interest in a Globalizing Word: A Theoretical Perspective”.The second dimension of my contribution in the area of methodology is the clarification ofconcepts. The concepts that captured my attention and the efforts to clarify which have beenpublished are: “National Interest”, “Non-alignment”, and “Globalization”.The third dimension of my contribution to the promotion of methodological consciousness ininternational relations is my insistence on systematic presentation of data and information asevidence on the basis of which conclusions may be reached. I believe in, and lay much emphasis,in both research and teaching, on the accumulation and orderly presentation of facts and figuresin support of arguments. Sometimes, my works make tedious reading because of this concern forwhat I regard as “concrete evidence. An example is my article published in CODESRIA’sAfrique et Developpement/Africa Development, Vol XIII, No.2, of 1988. It is a 48-page, facts40
and figure-studded analysis of Nigeria’s indigenization programme, and its impact on classformation and class struggles in Nigeria.The third major contribution which I have made in the study of international relations is the shiftof emphasis in foreign policy analysis from the traditional focus on objectives and principles toan accent on diplomatic strategies and techniques of bargaining. This change was accompaniedby another innovation; it was the re-focusing of foreign policy analysis from the secondary(political and security matters) and tertiary (diplomatic ceremonials and protocol as well asvalues) to the tertiary(material conditions of life) level of foreign policy. My first publishedcontribution in this area was entitled, “Foreign Policy and Economic Development”. : Thesecond was on the diplomacy of Nigeria’s external economic relations: economic diplomacy andnational interest.The fourth major contribution which I have made to the study of international relations isproviding a fresh perspective on linkage politics: the nexus between domestic politics andinternational politics; the exposition of the impact of domestic politics, especially bureaucraticpolitics, on Nigeria’s foreign policy. A good example is the study of the Nigeria-Cameroondispute over the Bakassi peninsula. Another is the study of the way in which the wide dispersalof responsibility for the conduct of external relations resulted in bureaucratic politics (thestruggle for functions and funds) and incoherence in foreign policy output (published inCivilizations in 1980)The fifth major contribution which I have made to the study of international relations is theconstruction of a framework of analysis of an international organization that enabled me toidentify trends in the development of the Organization of African Unity (OAU), and on the basisof my analysis of such trends predict fairly accurately its future development and status. Thatwork was published under the title, “The OAU in the Year 2000: Some Informed Projections”.Published in a special edition of the Nigerian Journal of International Affairs, in 1988 to markthe silver jubilee celebration of the OAU, the article carried the prediction that the OAU wouldbe relegated to functional irrelevance, “as the twenty-first century matures”, if it did not becomeproactive in tacking the problem of neo-colonialism, which I projected to be the historicalAfrican task in the new century. The emphasis being placed today on the New Partnership forAfrican Development (NEPAD), rather the African Union (AU),is a validation of that projection.Earlier, I had published two other works on international organizations. One was on “Nigeriaand the Non-aligned Movement”[1986], in a book produced to mark 25 years of Nigeria’sforeign policy and diplomacy. The other was on “The EEC and South Africa”, in the book titled,Southern Africa in the 1980s, a product of an international conference. These publicationsexposed me to the international academic community. Consequently, in 1989,I was invited by aconsortium of four international academic associations to be part of a team to produce aresearch-based special publication, a book on “The United Nations System: The Policies ofMember States”, to mark the golden jubilee of the United Nations system. Published by theUnited Nations University, the book had my contribution on “Nigeria and the United Nations” asits chapter eight. The concluding part of that chapter is symptomatic of, and consistent, with thehumanist perspective which I espouse:For a more effective world organization, peoples, not states,41
Page 5 and 6: Machiavelli wrote The Prince for a
Page 7 and 8: Second, the traditional approach to
Page 9 and 10: of the policies of different depart
Page 11 and 12: observed that there is no dichotomy
Page 13 and 14: several paradigms, of which behavio
Page 15: I began with a dialectical analysis
Page 18 and 19: condition for development.The exter
Page 20 and 21: In those sixty-five pages, I explai
Page 22 and 23: foreign oil companies could not cor
Page 24 and 25: feasibility as well as research and
Page 26 and 27: manufacture of printed cotton.One o
Page 28 and 29: inflate the cost of the industries
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Page 32 and 33: and later, the various parts of the
Page 34 and 35: This last point may be illustrated
Page 36 and 37: Our work on “Economic Diplomacy a
Page 38 and 39: and technologies. As a market, the
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Page 44: H. Assisi Asobie, Domestic Politica

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