The DRC Membership of the East African Community

On March 29, 2022, the Democratic Republic of the Congo was admitted to the East African Community as a new member. The country’s civil wars and existing terrorist groups in its Eastern parts pose a major national security concern to Tanzania and the region. The paper analyzes the existing quantitative data that describes trade volume between the DRC and the EAC with a focus on Tanzania’s benefit and national security concerns of the DRC’s membership. It analyzes the existing literature and Armed Conflict Location and Data (ACLED) tool to identify national security threats to Tanzania and the bloc at large. It finds, among others, that DRC’s membership is likely to have a positive effect on the EAC trade, as the bloc is expected to be a cheaper source for DRC’s imports compared to the rest of the world. In turn, the DRC is likely to export even more primary commodities to the region, but some EAC countries may benefit more than others in this. It also points to security dynamics.