New Theories of Regionalism

Thursdays, as always, involve graduate students.  Such a pleasure setting out arguments, but on this Thursday we debated the nature of regionalism in the East African Community, and especially the work of Eathan B. Kapstein.  

Ethan Kapstein summarises several competing hypotheses and finds four key areas of interest to explain why EAC Version 0.1 failed:[1]

·      the relative scale argument – Kenya was far richer than the other nations, too big relative to its neighbours, and thus it captured all the gains from integration; Kenya dominated both manufacturing and agriculture, and Tanzania and Uganda were fearful that their sectors could not compete.

·      the domestic politics argument – the regime types of the member-states were too different, making it difficult for leaders to establish the relations of trust fundamental to deeper integration;

·      the economic structure argument  – the underlying economic structures of the member-states, (mainly agricultural) did not enable the member-states to gain much from deeper integration, resulting in…

·      …. very little domestic political support among business elites for community-building efforts.

Now things are changing within the EAC, and convergence has led to a common market in EAC Version 0.2. But when we compare the theories of the past  that have been put forward by Mitrany, Haas, Hettne etc, they are all very positive about the future of regionalism, but today when debating the future of the EAC, what struck me was the degree to which the current arguments lean towards discussing the impediments to regionalism, or the problems inherent within regional structures.  It's almost as if economics are no longer relevant or important as economics are so overshadowed by political issues. Another issue turned on whether regional hegemons within regions are still actively pursuing convergence within their respective regions.  South Africa, for example, is now playing in the wider BRICS world, while still dipping its toes into IBSA.  The United States is unashamedly looking to Europe for a new life through a Free Trade Agreement.  Where is this all going and why the change of emphasis among the regional cognoscenti?   Are we reaching a tipping point that will sway us against Haas?  Are my thoughts on nationalism (with a small n) becoming more and more valid and appropriate? 

[1] Ethan B. Kapstein, “The East African Community: Why This Tine is Different,” May 2010.  Accessed online at http://www.opportunitieseastafricaexpo.com.