Africa’s aspiration for integration exceeds that of any other continent. This goal has resulted in an unsustainablesituation in which African countries frequently belong to two or more regional entities. It is vital to emphasize thatregardless of the shared objectives of any African regional economic community, most members will prioritize theirnational interests over anything else. As a result of this predicament, some countries, such as Zambia, have chosena strategy of overlapping membership, belonging to various organizations within the region. The study’s goal is toobjectively examine overlapping membership as a benefit and a barrier to regional integration. This article uses Zambia’sexperience in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the Common Market for Easternand Southern Africa (COMESA) as a case study. This article examines Zambia’s overlapping membership in theseregional economic communities (RECs) using realist theory and integration theory. The authors find that, whileZambia is an active participant and reaps benefits in both regional communities, being a dual member of SADC andCOMESA presents economic and legal challenges.

This article was submitted 17.01.2023