In this article an alternative thinking and methodological approach for the study of regional integration is proposed, addressing the limitations of classical regional integration theories and the new regionalism approach. A ‘dominatarian’ theory is introduced as an alternative analytical framework that exposes meanings attributed to a social force called ‘personness’, and how regions could be (re)constructed through this anthropocentric lens. The East African Community (EAC, henceforth referred to as the Jumuiya) is chosen as a tour de force for regional integration theories. The triadal analysis of the three main components of classical regional integration theories—economy, institutions and politics—reveals the deficiency of these frameworks in explaining the role of ‘personness’ in regional integration processes, especially within the African context. Consequently, the phrase ‘contextual misfitability’ has been coined to describe this condition. The article concludes with a reflection on how meanings are created and re-created from the Darwinian ontologies of natural sciences into social science regimes and its application to regional integration studies.

在本文中，提出了一种替代性思维和方法论方法来研究区域一体化，解决了传统的区域一体化理论和新的区域主义方法的局限性。引入“统治者”理论作为一种替代性分析框架，揭示了归因于社会力量“人格”的含义，以及如何通过这种以人类为中心的视角来构造​​（重构）区域。东非共同体（EAC，以下称为Jumuiya）被选为区域一体化理论的导游。对古典区域一体化理论的三个主要组成部分（经济，体制和政治）的三方面分析表明，这些框架在解释“人格”在区域一体化进程中，特别是在非洲背景下的作用方面存在不足。因此，创造了短语“上下文不匹配”来描述这种情况。文章最后总结了从达尔文的自然科学本体论到社会科学体系中是如何创建和重新创建意义的，以及如何将其应用于区域整合研究。