The Role of Economic Diplomacy in advancing kenya’s Development interests: The case of the ‘Look East Policy’ 1963-2013

Abstract

The end of the cold war triggered a reversal in the political and commercial polarity of the world. There have been a series of shifts from the ideological East- West divide that defined states within an either capitalist or communist framework that relied principally on political structure to define economic inclinations to one defined largely by economic interests. In other words, economic considerations appear to define political decisions rather than the other way around. As a result, there has also been a change in the nature of diplomatic relations among states shifting from the conventional military-political concerns that characterized the cold-war years to economic interests dominating the post cold-war era. Nominally, it is observed that the current iteration of global polarization is North-South, pitting developed against developing economies. Amongst the developing countries, the Eastern and Southern Asian regions specifically China and India are registering unprecedented rates of growth. The awakening of these eastern ‘tiger’ and ‘dragon’ economies is one of the drivers of increased Afro-Asian commercial and diplomatic exchanges and is a testament to the new trends in South-South relations.