Comparison Between Economic Factors Influencing Development in the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) Regional Bloc and the East African Community (EAC)

Regionalism in Africa has been pursued to foster economic growth and outgrowth. Despite the numerous efforts towards economic integration by the East African regional states, success has been limited. There is no comprehensive integration policy to cement the East African regional states. Although several authors have examined the influence of regionalism from various perspectives and regions, they have not addressed the EAC and the ASEAN in a comparative context. This knowledge gap motivated the current study whose specific objective was to assess the economic factors which influence development in the EAC and the ASEAN regional blocs. The study was guided by the Power Theories. It employed the concurrent mixed methods approach, incorporating the survey design for the quantitative component, and the exploratory design for the qualitative component. The study used both purposive and stratified random sampling to select respondents from members of the EAC Secretariat, delegates attending various EAC council and summit meetings, ASEAN diplomatic representatives within the EAC Partner States and officers from the Ministries of East African Community and Foreign Affairs. The study utilized primary data collected using questionnaires and interview guides.. The study established that The EAC member states have embraced similar policies on human development, social benefit and protection, across the region. The results of this study have demonstrated that, despite the numerous efforts of advancing economic integration by the East African regional states, real, tangible success is still an illusion. Pragmatic realization of mutual political trust needs to be embraced if the goal of economic integration is to be realized. The study recommends the development of a legislative and economic framework (laws, policies and guidelines) for Community Development within partner states as well as harmonization of democratization policies, processes and practices. Keywords: Economic Integration, Regionalism, Functionalism, Neo-functionalism