South African 'Imperialism' in a Region Lacking Regionalism: a critique

The expansion of South African capital throughout southern Africa notwithstanding, the values and type of regionalism that Pretoria (at least rhetorically) wishes to promote in the subcontinent through the Southern African Development Community (SADC) jars considerably with the extant modalities of governance in many of the states in the region. While market-led integration may be moving apace, political commitment to any supranational regional project remains-and is likely to remain-muted and arrested. South Africa's ability to thus become an alleged political 'leader' of southern Africa and/or exercise 'imperialism' is less significant than many think or fear. Studies of regionalisation in the region need to be grounded firmly within the realm of political economy.