| Abstract: | This article has two objectives: firstly, it comments on Vale's application of the device of 'high' and 'low' politics as an analytical mechanism for understanding political and economic integration (P. Vale, 'Prospects for transplanting European models of regional integration to Southern Africa', Politikon, 9(1982), 2, p. 32-41). The second objective juxtaposes the European experience against that of Southern Africa. The similarities and differences between the two regional activities are highlighted: the conclusion offered is that the European analogy, if used indiscriminately, obfuscates rather than illuminates. Ref., tab. |