https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/11/24/somalia-officially-joins-east-africa-trade-bloc
On the eastern tip of Africa, Somalia has become the 8th country to join the East African Community (EAC), a bloc in eastern Africa that supports free trade across the region. There’s hope for a boost in Somalia’s smaller economy (population of 7 million), as the combined population of the EAC will reach 300 million people, joining Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda in the regional bloc. The EAC serves to establish better trade terms by removing customs duties that impede trade flow.
This article demonstrates the development that African countries are gradually starting to take to boost their economy and develop their country more. Joining a regional bloc is not only a sign of goodwill and cooperation with other countries but also a form of alliance that might come in handy when Somalia needs it. There might be some difficulty in terms of national security for the other countries due to Somalia’s 16-year-long struggle against the Islamic militarist group Al-Shabab, but perhaps the new alliance might aid in their attempts to eradicate them, considering that they sent troops to the DRC, the member that joined EAC before Somalia, to help in the attacks of M23. The disorganization and corruption in Somalia’s government might prove difficult to join the block. The article stated that Somalia has had difficulties in the past with surrounding countries, some of which are in the bloc, so it’ll be fascinating to see the dynamic between them as the months continue. Although Somalia isn’t a popular country in that region, it might encourage nearby countries to join in as well. This could lead to a powerful IGO that might emerge on the global stage in terms of its economic influence.
In class, we’ve spoken about the role of peripheral states in IR theory: they serve as resource production places for the core states and typically do not have a substantial amount of wealth placed into the country for development. Somalia relates in the way that it’s still a first-world, developing country, and mainly exports crucial natural resources like uranium, iron, and other petroleum to the bigger nations.