Disconnected Clans in Fragmented Rangelands: Aligning the East African Community Integration Process with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

This chapter explores the fundamental neoliberal character of the East African Community (EAC) regional integration practice, which aims for the free movement of goods and services across state borders but neglects to facilitate transnational cultural fluidity. The chapter argues that the reason for the neglect is the EAC regional integration project's narrow focus on commoditization and marketization. Notably, it neglects the spiritual and cultural needs of transnational, nomadic Maasai Indigenous pastoralists whose communities remain fractured by colonial borders. As such, the continued enforcement of commercial practices prevents Indigenous communities from reconstructing holistic spiritual and cultural connections across state borders. This chapter contrasts the EAC regional integration project's marketing strategy of free cross-border flows and the free flows of goods and people as a mechanism to enhance collective well-being.