Abstract:
Scholars and policy makers identify two major impediments to regionalization in East Africa: lack of people centeredness and inadequate political will. The first is widely addressed in academic and policy literature. The latter, political will, remains an illusionary concept. There are those who say that because of it, the second East African Community (EAC II) is doomed to meet the fate of the first. Others state that it will be overcome. But; what is it? It is a complex concept, hard to grasp and even harder to measure. One way to tackle this is by looking at the nexus between member states posturing on sovereignty and regionalization. This is the overarching objective of this study. There are scholars who argue that states which cannot broadcast power within their territories, provide adequately for their citizens or secure their borders lack real sovereignty. The deepness of integration in East Africa is also questionable. The picture that this paints is confusing, making sovereignty a topic to avoid and regionalization processes a point of contention. Using a conceptual framework anchored in hybrid integration theories and social constructivism, the actions of state leaders are analyzed to assess the level of inter-influence between member states and the second East African Community (EAC II). This is measured against contemporary International Relations (IR) theory, and more Africanized studies of the state, with the view of conceptualizing sovereignty and ideations of regionalization outside the IR field. These concepts are used as a tool of content analysis on key heads of state speeches, with the view of understanding member state attitudes towards sovereignty and the EAC II, which is making sure, albeit extremely slow, progress. This analysis of qualitative data against theoretical considerations yields surprising results. Sovereignty is not a waning concept in East Africa: it is growing, but not in the same nation-centric, xenophobic way as in Europe. There is an observable symbiotic relationship between the institutions of the EAC II and member states. The weakest states derive most of their sovereignty from the institution. Additionally, governments and heads of state have a form of comradery, which in some instances has kept unstable governments in power and provided security for even the stronger member states. In a region where borders are porous and others lack territorial integrity, the EAC II plays a reasonable role in statecraft – therefore sovereignty. These bold findings are outlined in this thesis, by studying the long history of regionalization in East Africa, reviewing available literature on the subject in Africa, assigning meaning to sovereignty in Africa and assessing regional integration. It is hoped that this study can create a platform for the questioning of the concept of Westphalian sovereignty in Africa, the assessment of the impact of colonization on the modern African state and the re-imagining on the way in which we view the African state, and by extension regional organizations in Africa.