African regional integration and European involvement: external agents in the East African Community

The EU's role as a model for regional integration is widely discussed in scholarship and policy circles. The promotion of regional integration is central to the EU's external relations and is frequently expected by the EU's partners. This paper examines European involvement with the East African Community (EAC). It questions the promotion and adoption of the European model and critically examines how the discourse of regionalisation relates to motivations and dynamics. On the European part, the promotion of regional integration is part of the EU's notion of a geopolitical mission based on the objective of aligning internal and external policy agendas. African elites, on the other hand, frequently view ‘integration’ as a way of mobilising resources and asserting state sovereignty.