The political economy of regionalism: Regional integration arrangements and Africa's development. COMESA in a comparative context

This thesis adopts a comparative approach to examine the role of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) in the promotion of socio-economic and political development in Eastern and Southern Africa. The thesis begins by providing a theoretical background to the concept of regionalism. It then traces the emergence of regionalism within the political economy of the international system, beginning from the era of mercantilism to the era of globalization. It then provides a critical overview of the European Union (the EU), the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the Common Market of the Southern Cone (MERCOSUR) and the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and analyses the achievements of these regional integration arrangements in so far as meeting the socio-economic and political development needs of their respective regions is concerned and builds the framework within which COMESA is compared vis-a-vis these regional integration arrangements. (Abstract shortened by UMI.).