IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/inafri/v13y2021i1p76-94.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Dominatarian Theory of Regional Integration

Author

Listed:
  • Francis Onditi

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.

Suggested Citation

  • Francis Onditi, 2021. "Dominatarian Theory of Regional Integration," Insight on Africa, , vol. 13(1), pages 76-94, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:inafri:v:13:y:2021:i:1:p:76-94
    DOI: 10.1177/0975087820971451
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0975087820971451
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/0975087820971451?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Caroline Freund & Emanuel Ornelas, 2010. "Regional Trade Agreements," Annual Review of Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 2(1), pages 139-166, September.
    2. Frederick M. Abbott, 2007. "A New Dominant Trade Species Emerges: Is Bilateralism a Threat?," Journal of International Economic Law, Oxford University Press, vol. 10(3), pages 571-583, September.
    3. Grossman, Gene M & Helpman, Elhanan, 1995. "Trade Wars and Trade Talks," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 103(4), pages 675-708, August.
    4. Keohane, Robert O. & Nye, Joseph S., 1987. "Power and Interdependence revisited," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 41(4), pages 725-753, October.
    5. Padelford, Norman J., 1964. "The Organization of African Unity," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 18(3), pages 521-542, July.
    6. Danica Fink-Hafner & Mitja Hafner-Fink, 2009. "The Determinants of the Success of Transitions to Democracy," Europe-Asia Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 61(9), pages 1603-1625.
    7. Frances Stewart, 2019. "The Human Development Approach: An Overview," Oxford Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 47(2), pages 135-153, April.
    8. Anonymous, 1964. "Organization of African Unity," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 18(1), pages 209-210, January.
    9. Michael J. Butler, 2019. "Adaptive Peacemaking in Protracted Conflicts: IGAD Mediation in the Second Sudanese Civil War," Global Policy, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 10(S2), pages 93-100, June.
    10. Anonymous, 1964. "Organization of African Unity," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 18(3), pages 655-657, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Staiger, Robert & Bagwell, Kyle & Bown, Chad, 2015. "Is the WTO Passé?," CEPR Discussion Papers 10672, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    2. Patricia Tovar, 2014. "External tariffs under a free-trade area," The Journal of International Trade & Economic Development, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 23(5), pages 656-681, August.
    3. Kyle Bagwell & Chad P. Bown & Robert W. Staiger, 2016. "Is the WTO Passé?," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 54(4), pages 1125-1231, December.
    4. Elin Hellquist, 2014. "Regional Organizations and Sanctions Against Members: Explaining the Different Trajectories of the African Union, the League of Arab States, and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations," KFG Working Papers p0059, Free University Berlin.
    5. Jing Lu & Xiuyang Pan & Zuoling Xie, 2020. "Unity versus Collaboration: Construction of China's Belt and Road Free Trade Agreement 2.0 Network," Pacific Economic Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 25(2), pages 250-271, May.
    6. Sébastien Jean & David Laborde & Will Martin, 2008. "Choosing Sensitive Agricultural Products in Trade Negotiations," Working Papers 2008-18, CEPII research center.
    7. Pravin Krishna & Devashish Mitra, 2016. "Reciprocated unilateralism in trade policy," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: The Political Economy of Trade Policy Theory, Evidence and Applications, chapter 3, pages 37-63, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    8. Grossman, Gene M & Helpman, Elhanan, 1995. "The Politics of Free-Trade Agreements," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 85(4), pages 667-690, September.
    9. Serdar Ozturk & Seher Suluk, 2020. "The granger causality relationship between human development and economic growth: The case of Norway," International Journal of Research in Business and Social Science (2147-4478), Center for the Strategic Studies in Business and Finance, vol. 9(6), pages 143-153, October.
    10. Zouheir El-Sahli, 2023. "The Partial and General Equilibrium Effects of the Greater Arab Free Trade Agreement," The International Trade Journal, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 37(2), pages 185-199, March.
    11. Saggi, Kamal & Wong, Woan Foong & Yildiz, Halis Murat, 2017. "Preferential Trade Agreements and Rules of the Multilateral Trading System," MPRA Paper 76330, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    12. Nyam Elisha Yakubu, 2022. "An Appraisal of Hard Power in Contemporary Practice of Diplomacy," International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS), vol. 6(02), pages 342-351, February.
    13. Emanuel Ornelas, 2024. "Political competition and the strategic adoption of free trade agreements," CEP Discussion Papers dp2043, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    14. Kevin x.d. Huang & Engin Volkan & M. ege Yazgan, 2013. "Nonhomothetic Preferences with Habit Formation in Nondurable and Durable Consumption: Implications for Sectoral Comovement," Vanderbilt University Department of Economics Working Papers 13-00002, Vanderbilt University Department of Economics.
    15. Horn, Henrik & Tangerås, Thomas, 2016. "Economics and Politics of International Investment Agreements," Working Paper Series 1140, Research Institute of Industrial Economics.
    16. Johan Swinnen & Alessandro Olper & Senne Vandevelde, 2021. "From unfair prices to unfair trading practices: Political economy, value chains and 21st century agri‐food policy," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 52(5), pages 771-788, September.
    17. Andrei A. Levchenko, 2013. "International Trade and Institutional Change," The Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization, Oxford University Press, vol. 29(5), pages 1145-1181, October.
    18. Sokolova, Maria V., 2016. "Exchange Rates, International Trade and Growth: Re-Evaluation of Undervaluation," Conference papers 332790, Purdue University, Center for Global Trade Analysis, Global Trade Analysis Project.
    19. Faruqee, Hamid & Laxton, Douglas & Muir, Dirk & Pesenti, Paolo, 2008. "Would protectionism defuse global imbalances and spur economic activity? A scenario analysis," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 32(8), pages 2651-2689, August.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:inafri:v:13:y:2021:i:1:p:76-94. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.