Paper short abstract:

The proposed project will document and analyze an empowerment of East African Community (EAC), which results a transfer of authority to supranational body, and a transfer of particular European rules and norms into (and from above) the East African Community.

Paper long abstract:

The proposed project consists of three parts, and the first part of the project focuses the relevance of regional integration idea for the European Union and the relevance of this idea in the European policy toward Africa. African regional communities seem to be "a laboratory for Europeanisation" beyond the EU borders, due to long tradition of European influence, therefore I will document and analyze the motivations, methods, and spheres of the EU's activity in promoting regional integration in Africa. The second part focuses on the impact of the European model, and responses from EAC member states. Therefore the proposed project focuses on the rationalization of regional integration in Sub-Saharan Africa, and answers the question what kind of rationality is prevailing among EAC members regarding models of integration. Two theoretical models proposed by Walter Matli and Francesco Duina, and Amitav Aharya will be adopted to explain EAC' responses. The third part focuses on differences between EAC expectations and EU offer, regarding aims and modes of integration. I argue that clear failure of European model results from different notions of integration on both sides, when EU is still an unfinished project, framed in post-Westphalian manner, while EAC member states expect clear and simple solution, classically Westphalian form of federal state. Such differences result in path dependent decisions, and different way of integration.