ISSN 1024-6029 print / 2154-0128 online © 2012 Institute for Security Studies DOI: 10.1080/10246029.2012.693891 http://www.tandfonline.com African Security Review 21.4, December 2012, 38–50 Mwita Chacha is Assistant Professor, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Nazarbayev University, Astana, Kazakhstan and Research Fellow, Center for International Trade and Security, The University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia (m.chacha@cits.uga.edu) Regional integration and nuclear energy in Africa Mwita Chacha African states are hampered by unreliable electric energy that has not complemented economic development efforts. Recently, several African states announced plans to pur- sue nuclear energy in the future. However, several challenges remain for these states, notably insecurity and financial deficiencies. This paper proposes the use of regional in- tegration arrangements to address these challenges faced by African states, as a way of complementing other efforts enabling African states to obtain nuclear energy. The exist- ence of these arrangements and their institutional mechanisms can enable African states to enhance security and cost-effectively develop nuclear power infrastructure. Keywords Africa, energy, nuclear, regional integration Introduction Energy is crucial for economic development. Lack of reliable energy has hampered eco- nomic development in Africa. The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) observes that African states face great challenges in alleviating poverty and en- hancing economic growth because of lack of access to affordable and reliable energy. 1 In a 2005 report on regional energy integration in Africa, the World Energy Council echoes the lack of access to reliable energy as a major challenge for African states. 2 Power rationing and energy shortages are rampant in many African states despite grandiose goals of attaining high levels of economic productivity in the near future. 3 For instance, in 2009, drought in Kenya forced the main distributor of electricity in the country to initiate daily power cuts