Abstract

The TAZARA Railway and the Dynamics of Functional Spillover in Southern Africa: A Neofunctionalist Reading

KABAMBA MAKOFI MARC

Volume: 16 Issue: 1 2026

Abstract:

This article analyzes the TAZARA railway (Tanzania–Zambia Railway Authority) through the lens of neo-functionalism in order to assess its contribution to regional integration in Southern Africa. Constructed between 1970 and 1975 to link Dar es Salaam to Kapiri Mposhi, TAZARA was both an economic, political, and symbolic project. It aimed to reduce Zambia’s landlocked vulnerability, lessen its dependence on corridors controlled by minority regimes in Southern Africa, and embody a Pan-African vision of solidarity championed by Julius Nyerere and Kenneth Kaunda.

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