2025-03-29https://repository.covenantuniversity.edu.ng/handle/123456789/37427The study interrogates the content and context of the new realities that characterise the relations between the member states of Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). Indeed, this contemporary form of relations has been popularized as the “new scramble” for Africa in view of the previous scrambles that have been copiously documented in literature – slavery and colonialism. However, the kernel of this study is to situate this new form of relations in the West African sub-region within the complexities of the age-long rivalry in Francophone/Anglophone narratives. It does so through an examination of the political economy of languages in determining the mode of production. In view of this, the study engages underdevelopment and dependency theory (UDT), as a mainstream development theory which views global relations as historical and dialectical processes that necessarily engender contradictions in the political economy of nations. Based on textual analysis and review, the study unearths the distortions inherent in the political economy of the Francophone/Anglophone West African countries in this “new struggle”. Findings suggest that while the French influence in West Africa is still dominant, the forces of globalization are fast contesting that supremacy. More so, the aggressive drive by the emerging economies, especially Brazil, India and China (BIC) for competitive share of the African market and resources makes this new scramble very precarious. The study concludes that the contradictions embedded in globalization will outstrip French influence in the nearest future, while recommending a more robust and inclusive engagement of all countries in the ECOWAS sub-region to maximize the gains of globalizationapplication/pdfPR English literatureArticle