Balancing Promise and Challenge

Abstract

This article critically analyses the gender equality provisions of the Samoa Agreement through a postcolonial lens, assessing their potential and limitations within contemporary EU –Africa relations. Drawing on contextual insights from Kenya, Nigeria and Tanzania, it examines how the agreement’s commitment to integrated and intersectional gender governance intersects with diverse political, cultural and institutional environments. The study combines critical discourse analysis of the agreement with expert consultations involving EU actors engaged in or advising on the post-Cotonou process, as well as contextual observations derived from scholarly exchanges during a regional conference in Tanzania. The findings show that although the Samoa Agreement offers opportunities to strengthen gender-responsive governance, its implementation is constrained by bureaucratic complexity, limited local ownership, cultural and religious contestations and political volatility. The article argues that the agreement’s transformative potential depends on supporting equitable, locally grounded gender initiatives.