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Original research
ENHANCING WEST AFRICA’S ENERGY SOVEREIGNTY THROUGH SMALL MODULAR REACTORS, INSTITUTIONAL INTEGRATION AND STRATEGIC DEPLOYMENTPages 119-128 Abstract
This paper explores the strategic deployment of Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) as a catalyst for enhancing energy sovereignty in West Africa, with a focus on institutional integration under regional frameworks such as ECOWAS, WAPP, ECREEE, and ERERA. Against a backdrop of acute energy poverty and overreliance on imported fossil fuels, the study argues that SMRs if embedded within coherent regional governance mechanisms can address both technological and geopolitical deficits in West Africa’s energy transition. Drawing on the author’s direct involvement over a four-year period as a volunteer with Rosatom-led initiatives to promote nuclear education and scientific exchange between Russia and African countries, the research provides a unique practitioner perspective on the soft-power dimensions of nuclear cooperation. It analyzes how Russian foreign policy strategies anchored in technical assistance, regulatory capacity building, and education diplomacy can serve as enablers of institutional readiness for nuclear technology adoption in Africa. Through a mixed-methods approach combining geospatial analysis, regulatory mapping, and scenario planning, the study assesses the nuclear readiness of Ghana, Nigeria, Mali, and Burkina Faso. It highlights how regional harmonization of nuclear policy, underpinned by Russia–Africa energy diplomacy, can foster a resilient, autonomous energy architecture in the ECOWAS bloc. The findings suggest that SMRs present not only a technical solution but also a platform for advancing regional integration, industrial transformation, and geopolitical autonomy in West Africa.
Keywords: Small Modular Reactors, Energy Sovereignty, Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Russia-Africa Energy Diplomacy, Regional Energy Governance.
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Bernice Karikari 
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