Old Conception and New Realities: the Theoretical Discussion on the Style of Substance of Nigeria’s Foreign Policy in the New World

Abstract

The demise of the Soviet Union marked end of the Cold War and the beginning of a new era, which has come to be regarded as the New World Order. This new era is characterized by unprecedented changes that spanned the political, economic, social and cultural dimensions of international life. These changes would have obvious implications for Nigeria's leadership role in Africa and its significance as a prominent player on the world stage. Nigeria's response and the relevance of the country's foreign policy to the New World Order constitute the theme of this paper. The study starts with an examination of some general notions of "world order" and a specific consideration of "the New World Order", its nature and characteristics. The existence of a New World Order, in which the United States of America has emerged as the only pre-eminent global super power, was established. It was argued, however, that pax americana by no means meant the establishment of a unipolar structure in world politics. The new system that has emerged could at best be regarded as a transitional stage from a bipolar to a multipolar structure, with diffuse and varied power centers. Thereafter, the evolution of Nigeria's foreign policy was reviewed through an examination of the fundamental principles, i.e. the substance - of the policy and the style adopted by various Nigerian governments in the conduct of foreign relations. The objective was to identify the consistency or otherwise of the foreign policy principles through the different regimes, with a view to determining their relevance in the changed environment of the New World Order. The features of that New World Order were then identified as encompassing globalization of the world economy; the recourse to multilateralism, regionalism, and collective security in international politics; and the reinterpretation of some traditional concepts of international relations, such as national sovereignty. The spread of certain universal social and cultural values as well as the global revolution in communications and information technology, which have shrunk the world to a "universal village", were seen as further characteristics of the New World Order. The paper concludes by observing that the traditional principles of Nigeria's foreign policy - the old conceptions have not changed, but are still valid in the new realities of a changed international environment. There is need, however, for strengthening the domestic foundations of the foreign policy, as well as a review of some aspects of its formulation and implementation. Some recommendations were therefore proffered in that regard.