Religion and its relevance to contemporary international relations with reference to international political economy, state and development in east Africa

Religion is once again gaining its position as a useful category of analysis in the field of contemporary IR, particularly as regards governance, development, and international political economy issues. This paper seeks to examine the position of religion in the politics and economics of East Africa. In this regard, religion can be viewed not just as culture or ideology, but as a structural phenomenon that is integral to the systems of power, distribution and politics. By using a constructivist/secularist/IPE perspective, the religions are shown to function as political economic entities in the governance process, development initiatives, and transnational economic ventures. Through specific case studies involving countries such as Uganda, Kenya, South Sudan, and the DRC, it will be demonstrated that religion plays a crucial role in maintaining and disrupting the existing political economies according to their institutional arrangements. The model and empirical indicators for understanding the relations between religion and IPE/State/development is provided.