FIGURE 7.19 Principal trade organizations in sub-Saharan Africa. There is a lot of overlap between the countries and the regional trade organizations, but often one country is dominant in each group. South Africa and Nigeria, for example, are dominant in three regional trade organizations; but in fact, South Africa trades with nearly all countries in the region, according to well-established relationships. Because political stability is essential to trade, some of the strongest trade organizations, such as the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), have become involved in the amelioration of conflicts.