Call for information and documentation on regionalism in the Great Lakes Region (CEPGL and EAC)

Outline and aims of the research

The starting point of my investigation is the idea that a region does not merely exist as an economic, social, political or judicial ‘reality’ but also – and in greater part – as a construction that has an imaginary component.

This approach to regionalism as being essentially the creation of an ‘imaginary community’ is of course highly indebted to the theoretical work on nationalism by Benedict Anderson. It is an approach that has been tested at several occasions on different identity constructions on the African continent, particularly around issues such as nationalism, ethnicity, and more recently also (micro-) regionalism.

The central point of my thesis is that a region, just like a nation or an ethnic affiliation, is formed by representations, histories and visions of the future. In this way, the region is, produced and reproduced by a diversity of so-called ‘regionalizing actors’ that aim at achieving specific goals. As a consequence, it should be possible to uncover and retrace the actor’s intentions by investigating his distinctive ‘patterns of storytelling’.

My investigation focuses specifically on the official narratives employed both by Rwanda and Belgium concerning two recent regional initiatives, notably the Communauté Economique des Pays de Grands Lacs (CEPGL – reestablished in 2007) and the East African Community (EAC, reestablished in 1999 – Rwanda is a member since 2007).

The aim is to comparatively study the discursive practices employed by both ‘regionalizing actors’ in order to gain a greater understanding of the similarities or differences in their respective motivations and ambitions in this region.

Call for documentation and information

To achieve the aim of this investigation there is a need to gather a great diversity of sources (preferably in French, English or Dutch) reflecting directly or indirectly the positions of Rwanda and Belgium towards both the CEPGL and the EAC between 2000 and 2010. 

This needs concerns in the first place political as well as administrative documents originating either from these respective regional organizations and ‘regionalizing actors’. These documents include agreements, treaties, reports and minutes of meetings on different levels, evaluations, policy and strategy documents, press releases, etc. including internal as well as external communication.

Of particular interest is the way these regional initiatives are presented in diverse official media, information and education programmes, more specifically in history and/or political education courses in Rwanda.
External points of views, from the internal political opposition, national or international press, international organizations, donors or non-governmental organizations would of course be very helpful.

Finally, I would also like to collect personal comments and annotations on this issue, eventually through written or oral interviews with academics, journalists, diplomats, politicians or other relevant people.

If you dispose of some information or if you know someone who could help me please contact me via my email address bogaertsokke@gmail.com or via my phone number 0485 96 78 46. All requests for confidentiality will of course be respected.

Thank you very much,

Okke Bogaerts
Masterstudent Conflict and Development
Universiteit Gent
Belgium