Explaining East Africa’s Reluctance to Ratify African Union Counterterrorism Legal Instruments

Terrorism remains a persistent and evolving threat in East Africa, yet many states across the region continue to hesitate ratifying and domesticating key African Union (AU) counterterrorism legal instruments. This study investigates the normative, institutional and strategic factors underlying this reluctance. Using qualitative document analysis of 21 AU policy documents, regional strategies, national laws and scholarly studies, the research identifies seven interlinked drivers of legal hesitation: resource and capacity constraints; human rights and constitutional concerns; weak political will and fragile institutional frameworks; sovereignty sensitivities and African-ownership imperatives; preference for external security partnerships; distrust of regional legal-cooperation mechanisms; and strategic cost-benefit calculations. Guided by institutional theory, rational choice theory and constructivism, the study demonstrates that East African states navigate a complex trade-off between national security interests, sovereignty protection and regional cooperation, often viewing AU instruments as politically unattractive, operationally weak or misaligned with domestic priorities. The findings extend existing scholarship by showing how structural limitations, normative anxieties and strategic incentives interact to shape regional legal behavior. The study concludes that closing the AU counterterrorism implementation gap will require more than technical reforms; it demands trust-building, stronger rights safeguards and participatory, locally grounded processes that enhance legitimacy. It recommends context-sensitive approaches that strengthen institutional capacity while respecting sovereignty and calls for future empirical research on political perceptions and community-level attitudes. This article offers a holistic explanation of East Africa’s reluctance to domesticate AU counterterrorism instruments and emphasizes the necessity of integrated, African-owned, and politically credible regional security frameworks.