What does the Data Tell Us About Dominatarian Theory of Regional Integration?

2021 ◽  
pp. 097359842110005
Author(s):  
Francis Onditi
Keyword(s):  
Interest Groups ◽  
Development Strategy ◽  
Regional Integration ◽  
Analytical Framework ◽  
East African ◽  
Theoretical Frameworks ◽  
East African Community ◽  
Conceptual Clarity ◽  
Asymmetric Power ◽  
African Community

This article contests that the classical regional integration theoretical frameworks are too broad to bring out conceptual clarity and explain the emerging interstate tensions. The paper identifies two specific indicators that together can explain the dynamics: economic domination and institutional (interest groups) domination. It evaluates the applicability of the Onditi’s dominatarian theory by constructing an alternative thinking framework— regional trade dominance (RTD), to explain the dynamics of the regional integration based on trade data from the East African Community (EAC) Development Strategy, 2016–2021. The paper addresses this conceptual-policy lacuna by demonstrating how Kenya’s economic performance and institutional (interest groups) leverages have sustained its dominant interest, leading to interstate cynicism and mistrust. The persistent mistrust driven by the perceived asymmetric power balance among the EAC Partner States points to the importance of framing the debate in a way that constructs the outcome of the regional integration to accommodate both powerful states and those perceived weak. In this case, the RTD analytical framework, offers the option for constructing the outcome of a regional integration, either as a noun, dominance or as an act of domination.

Dominatarian Theory of Regional Integration

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 76-94
Author(s):  
Francis Onditi
Keyword(s):  
Regional Integration ◽  
Methodological Approach ◽  
Analytical Framework ◽  
Social Force ◽  
East African ◽  
East African Community ◽  
African Community ◽  
African Context ◽  
Main Components

In this article an alternative thinking and methodological approach for the study of regional integration is proposed, addressing the limitations of classical regional integration theories and the new regionalism approach. A ‘dominatarian’ theory is introduced as an alternative analytical framework that exposes meanings attributed to a social force called ‘personness’, and how regions could be (re)constructed through this anthropocentric lens. The East African Community (EAC, henceforth referred to as the Jumuiya) is chosen as a tour de force for regional integration theories. The triadal analysis of the three main components of classical regional integration theories—economy, institutions and politics—reveals the deficiency of these frameworks in explaining the role of ‘personness’ in regional integration processes, especially within the African context. Consequently, the phrase ‘contextual misfitability’ has been coined to describe this condition. The article concludes with a reflection on how meanings are created and re-created from the Darwinian ontologies of natural sciences into social science regimes and its application to regional integration studies.

Foreign policy and regional relations

2020 ◽  
pp. 588-601
Author(s):  
L. Muthoni Wanyeki
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Regional Integration ◽  
Domestic Economy ◽  
African Union ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
East African ◽  
East African Community ◽  
Military Involvement ◽  
African Community ◽  
Internal And External Factors

In recent years, and particularly since the 2013 general election and the ascent to power of the Jubilee Alliance, Kenya has sought to enhance its influence and standing beyond the regional economic communities of the East African Community (EAC) and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD). This chapter explores Kenya’s foreign policy and changing relationship with the EAC and IGAD, the ways in which it has sought to expand its regional integration to include the African Union (AU), the reasons for this shift, and the implications for Kenya’s domestic economy and politics. It posits that, due to both internal and external factors—such as military involvement in Somalia and the LAPSSET corridor project—Kenya is now pursuing a far more aggressive and proactive bilateral and multilateral diplomatic strategy with both positive and negative effects.

Public Corporations in Single–Country and Regional Settings: Kenya and the East African Community

1973 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 303-328 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dennis L. Dresang ◽  
Ira Sharkansky
Keyword(s):  
Regional Integration ◽  
Public Enterprises ◽  
East African ◽  
Resource Base ◽  
East African Community ◽  
Public Corporations ◽  
Public Corporation ◽  
African Community ◽  
Regional Community ◽  
The Impact

This essay draws from the experience of Kenya and the East African Community to ascertain the impact of single–country or regional ownership on the commercial performance of public enterprises. The advantages of the larger resource base of a regional community are mooted by the problems of mobilizing those resources. A fledgling public corporation can secure assistance most readily when owned by one state. It is also clear that traits of a corporation independent of its regional or single–country status affect commercial success. The essay concludes with a discussion of the limited contribution public corporations make to further levels of regional integration.

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