Theorising EU-Nigeria Relations: A Post-Westernist Framework for Africa-Europe Diplomatic Studies

This doctoral study develops an original theoretical framework for analysing EU-Nigeria relations that transcends the Eurocentric assumptions embedded in dominant International Relations paradigms, advancing a Post-Westernist perspective that centres Nigerian agency, epistemic sovereignty, and relational historicity. The existing theoretical architecture for EU-Africa relations, including Liberal Institutionalism, Normative Power Europe, and Dependency Theory, each carries analytical limitations that obscure the full complexity of the EU-Nigeria bilateral relationship from a Nigerian scholarly standpoint. This research employs a meta-theoretical design, critically analysing the assumptions and silences in extant EU-Africa theoretical frameworks through systematic literature review and expert philosophical dialogue with scholars from Nigerian, European, and global South academic traditions. Drawing on Ubuntu philosophy, Afrocentrism, and Southern Theory, the study constructs a novel Post-Westernist analytical framework and applies it to three empirical cases: the EPA negotiation process, EU democracy promotion in Nigeria, and EU-Nigeria migration management partnerships. The original theoretical contribution consists of a conceptual architecture that recognises Nigerian epistemic agency in bilateral relations rather than positioning Nigeria purely as recipient of European normative or material influence. Findings challenge dominant theoretical consensus in European Studies and advance an original scholarly contribution at the intersection of African philosophy and IR theory. Keywords: Post-Westernist theory, EU-Nigeria relations, African agency, IR theory, epistemic sovereignty.