Puzzling Over the Pieces

The report examines the gap between Africa's strong rhetorical commitment to regional integration and the limited actual progress achieved. Using APRM data from 17 countries, it identifies systemic barriers including reluctance to cede national sovereignty, overlapping memberships in multiple regional economic communities (RECs), inadequate infrastructure, and a lack of private sector involvement. While some blocs like the East African Community (EAC) show more progress, most have not advanced beyond free trade areas or customs unions, and intra-African trade remains low compared to trade with external partners like the EU and China.

• Despite an extensive institutional architecture of regional economic communities (RECs), actual progress on integration has been limited; while some have achieved free trade areas or customs unions, none have advanced beyond this stage.
• African states are generally reluctant to relinquish national sovereignty to supranational authorities, which hinders the implementation of community protocols on trade and market integration.
• The 'spaghetti bowl' phenomenon of multiple memberships in various RECs creates conflicting goals and administrative burdens, making deeper integration—such as customs unions—unviable because a country cannot impose multiple sets of common external tariffs.
• Intra-African trade remains very low; between 2007 and 2011, exports within the continent accounted for only 11% of total African merchandise exports, with most countries maintaining dominant trade relationships with the EU and China.
• The East African Community (EAC) is identified as one of the more successful 'progressing' RECs due to strong political leadership, permanent institutions, and the complementarity of member states' economies.
• Severe infrastructural deficits, particularly in paved roads, power generation, and telephone lines, act as a physical barrier to trade that policy frameworks alone cannot overcome.
• Regional integration efforts have been predominantly statist, largely excluding the private sector and civil society, which limits the practical identification of trade blockages and the creation of wealth.
• Economic fears, specifically the loss of customs revenue and the risk of smaller economies being overwhelmed by regional hegemons like South Africa, Nigeria, or Kenya, discourage full commitment to open markets.
• Security instability and conflict frequently divert the attention of regional bodies and lead countries to close borders, undermining the environment necessary for integration.

APA

Corrigan, T. (2015). Puzzling Over the Pieces. South African Institute of International Affairs. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Research-Report-18.pdf

Chicago

Corrigan, Terence. Puzzling Over the Pieces. South African Institute of International Affairs, 2015. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Research-Report-18.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Corrigan |first1=Terence |title=Puzzling Over the Pieces |publisher=South African Institute of International Affairs |date=January 2015 |url=https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Research-Report-18.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{corrigan2015puzzling, author = {Corrigan, Terence}, title = {{Puzzling Over the Pieces}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2015}, month = jan, url = {https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Research-Report-18.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }