Problem statement & theoretical hypotheses How can the EAC become embedded in civil society? Problem statement: Theoretical hypotheses 1. Contending EA political elites manipulate and exploit social identities and ethnic groups in order to secure their claims to political positions and state resources. 2. The creation of an integrated regional identity among east Africans based on shared regional citizenship and language is essential to make the EAC a successful integration project 3. can function as effective participatory structures and encourage CSO’s civic engagement in socio-political processes and can thereby become means to link the EAC to civil society. To clarify the problem statement above, it deals with the broad question of how the EAC can become rooted in civil society. In order to disclose the internal logic of this project and to present the research question and theoretical hypotheses in a straightforward manner the table above has been created which will serve as a steering guide through the thesis. The table should be read in a hierarchical order starting out with a broad open ended research question, leading into 3 theoretical hypotheses which are examined in the thesis to find answers to the research question. In the next section, the methodology of the thesis will be outlined, to illustrate the research design, information gathering methods and limitations inherent in this thesis.
Problem statement & theoretical hypotheses Problem statement: How can the EAC become embedded in civil society? Theoretical hypotheses 1. Contending EA political elites manipulate and exploit social identities and ethnic groups in order to secure their claims to political positions and state resources. 2. The creation of an integrated regional identity among east Africans based on shared regional citizenship and language is essential to make the EAC a successful integration project 3. CSO’s can function as effective participatory structures and encourage civic engagement in socio-political processes and can thereby become means to link the EAC to civil society. To clarify the problem statement above, it deals with the broad question of how the EAC can become rooted in civil society. In order to disclose the internal logic of this project and to present the research question and theoretical hypotheses in a straightforward manner the table above has been created which will serve as a steering guide through the thesis. The table should be read in a hierarchical order starting out with a broad open ended research question, leading into 3 theoretical hypotheses which are examined in the thesis to find answers to the research question. In the next section, the methodology of the thesis will be outlined, to illustrate the research design, information gathering methods and limitations inherent in this thesis.