East African Community II: Second Time the Charm?

This chapter considers the developments and accomplishments arising from the second East African Community, one of the more successful, but membership-limited RECs. Despite the collapse of the first iteration, the treaty for the second East African Community (EAC II) was signed in 1999, and the community came into existence in 2000, with the self-same original three members: Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. It later expanded to include Rwanda, Burundi and South Sudan, and as of 2022, the restive Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The chapter briefly examines why the first EAC (EAC I) collapsed after only ten years of existence (1967–1997). It also examines the desire to revive the community, one of Nyerere’s lifelong dreams. It considers the progress that EAC has made towards outlined regional integration goals, implementing a Free Trade Area (FTA), a customs union, common currency, legislative and judicial organs, up to the establishment of the right of residence. It highlights the challenges EAC faces, especially Tanzania’s ambivalence. It highlights some of EAC’s qualitative achievements, including being instrumental in South Sudan’s warring parties’ agreement to form the Revitalized Transitional Government of National Unity (RTGoNU) in 2020, under threat of sanctions or suspension by the EAC. It also considers regional data on governance, economic development and security. Whereas correlations over time show growth in GDP and better governance, there is not a clear, direct line that allows for the conclusion that there is a causative effect; one considers that EAC’s achievements are better understood in the stated desire, rather than outcomes, of these variables.