National Defence College

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Browsing National Defence College by Author "Mitoko Collins O"

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    Impact of Regionalism on the National Security of East Africa Community Member States: A Case Study of Kenya
    (NDU-K, 2023) Mitoko Collins O
    The primary goal of the study is to determine how regionalism affects the sense of national security among members of the East Africa Community by using a case study of Kenya. Three specific goals of the study included ascertaining the impact of regionalism on the national security of the East African community member states, the benefits and challenges of regionalism for Kenya and determining the socioeconomic repercussions of regionalism on the country's national security as well as its effects on other members of the East African Community. Hegemonic Conflict and Change, a theory developed by Robert Gilpin, served as the study's theoretical foundation. Investigative study was conducted using a technique called exploratory research. Senior military officers from the Kenyan Defense Forces, senior staff from Kenya's Ministry of East African and Regional Development, representatives from the embassies of Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and South Sudan were among the target population. The data was gathered using both surveys and interviews. The data analysis methodology employed both quantitative and qualitative data analysis methodologies. The analysis's outcomes were represented graphically using pie charts, bar graphs, and statistics graphs. The results show that respondents think regionalism has rekindled earlier East African Community (EAC) cooperation. National security and EAC regionalism had a favorable and important relationship. National security benefited greatly and significantly from regionalism's socioeconomic implications. In the past, there was a stronger and more significant association between the socioeconomic effects of regionalism and Kenya's regression coefficient. For Kenya, there is a positive and significant correlation between national security and the benefits and challenges of regionalism. The study's findings demonstrate that the long-standing cooperation between the EAC and regionalism has been rekindled. It demonstrates that in order to safeguard regional national security, Kenya and the other EAC member states must expedite the pace of socioeconomic development in each of their individual countries. According to the study's findings, Kenya should continue emphasizing the potential advantages of regionalism as a foundation for leveraging the national security of its people. The report encouraged the EAC's member nations to consistently support it financially and by putting in place the required processes in order to sustain regional peace and security. The study came to the conclusion that additional work should be done in this area since the socio-economic requirements of the EAC region serve as a road-map for addressing the region's security challenges. The study suggests that Kenya should take advantage of its tremendous economic influence as a developing member of the EAC in order to boost benefits for both its people's national security and the welfare of the entire population.