The theoretical foundation of REI in Africa is drawn from the reference of European integration theories. Some of scholars disagree with the reflection of these theories of REI in the context of African, in the ground that they were drawn from or reflecting on the European settings (Okafor and Aniche, 2017). Mitrany (1943) set forth the theory of functionalism is based on certain assumptions about the causes of war and peace, that social and economic maladjustments are the basic causes of war and social and economic welfare is the precondition of peace. The theory implicates that the nation-state system cannot deal with basic social and economic problems because global society is arbitrarily divided into units based on territory rather than units based on problems to be solved (Mitrany, 1943). This means institutions based on function, not territory, would be appropriate for solving basic social and economic problems (Mitrany, 1943). This theory based on the global society, and the integration is driven by the commonness of interests and priorities. This theory is irrelevant …show more content…
The study further evidenced that geographical proximity, cultural, historical and ideological similarities, competitive or complementary economic linkages, and common language among the members are the desirable conditions for effective economic integration. This means the effective REI in Africa will be achieved if the Africa will reach monoculture continent, which is breaking the social and cultural differences reinforced by RECs and other regional economic groups. The unity of African people is the pre-request for successful REI in Africa. Overlapping membership positively reduces the cultural and social-economic difference among the RECs, thus fosters the