The role of transnational legal activism in the construction of participatory regionalism in East Africa

Abstract

New regionalism scholars recognize the role of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in undertaking transnational legal activism, which focuses on regional law-making and litigation in regional courts. More broadly, the New Regionalism Approach emphasizes the participation of CSOs and other actors in regional integration in a process described as multidimensional, involving both state and non-state actors. This study investigates the role of transnational legal activism in East Africa. It focuses on interactions between CSOs on one hand, and the bodies responsible for lawmaking and litigation, that is, the East African Legislative Assembly and East African Court of Justice, on the other. It argues that by undertaking transnational legal activism, CSOs advance people-centered regionalism as anticipated by the Treaty. But in doing so, they encounter challenges associated with the construction of the EAC as an elite-driven, intergovernmental process.

Key words: EAC, participatory regionalism, transnational legal activism, East African Legislative Assembly, East African Court of Justice

DOI: 10.7176/JAAS/84-07

Publication date: November 30^th 2025