Dominatarian Theory of Regional Integration

Abstract

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.

Xenophobia and the challenge of regional integration in Africa: understanding three cardinal dynamics

“…While all the foregoing challenges have attracted arguably adequate discussions in the literature on Africa's regional integration, some important dynamics of xenophobia in the discourse and practice of regional integration remain significantly lacking. Xenophobia poses perhaps the most important challenge to Africa's integration because it affects all the main components of integration -politics, security, trade, and cultural exchanges (Onditi 2021). According to Bordeau (2010), while globalisation has promoted the migration of individuals across the world, especially within the African continent, the politics of diversities surrounding ethnicity, culture, and nationality have negatively affected the settlement and productivity of migrants.…”