A comparative analysis of the 1967 treaty for the East African Community and the 1999 treaty for the East African Community: lessons for East African regional intergration

Attempts at regional integration are some of the most salient marks of late twentieth century politics and have featured prominently in the Political Science and International Relations literature. In undertaking a comparative analysis of the 1967 Treaty for East African Community and the 1999 Treaty for the East African Community, this study intends to contribute to this literature in two ways. First, to offer an empirical account of an area (i.e., East Africa) that has typically been marginalised from discussions of regional integration. Second, while most of the theories of regional integration have been formed by observing a single case, or by comparing cases across regions, this subject provides the unique opportunity to compare two treaties within a single region across time. This offers almost 'experimental' conditions in which to observe the real world applications of social science theory and the capacity of political leaders to learn from and overcome past mistakes. Working from the belief that the success of the new community depends on successfully addressing the problems which contributed to the collapse of the East African Community in 1977, this study may help to identify how far our leaders have come in doing so, and what they have left to do. This dissertation ultimately suggests that while the 1999 Treaty calls for a people-centred and people-driven community, it fails to address the most fundamental fault in the 1967 Treaty, which is undue reliance on the initiatives of elected political leaders. Without structural and institutional reforms giving more power to technical and supervisory organs (e.g., economic commissions and courts), the new treaty is likely to fall victim to the same processes and problems that led to the collapse of the Community in 1977.