GLOBAL POLITICS OF REGIONALISM: Theory And Practice - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 074532262X ISBN 13: 9780745322629

Verlag: Pluto Press, 2005

Inhaltsangabe

This book explores the phenomenon of regionalism. In a seeming contradiction to globalization, there is a growing tendency for countries to enter into regional arrangements as a response to the pressures of operating in a global marketplace. But regionalism is also emerging as a phenomenon in its own right, serving distinct purposes and taking different forms in different areas. The contributors explore how these patterns impact on wider issues such as global governance, democracy and trade. The book reviews the major theoretical approaches to regional cooperation including perspectives from international relations, political economy, economics and sociology. It is divided into three main sections: theoretical approaches to regionalism; issues of regional cooperation (such as security, monetary issues, identity and integration); and an exploration of specific case studies including the Middle East, Africa, the Americas, China, Europe, Asia and the Pacific. With an international range of contributors, including Bjorn Hettne, Louise Fawcett and Andrew Hurrell, this in-depth and multi-disciplinary guide will be of interest to students across the social sciences and to the wider policy community.

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Noam Chomsky is a world renowned linguist and one of America's foremost social critics. He is Institute Professor in the Department of Linguistics and Philosophy at MIT and the author of numerous books for Pluto Press.

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Global Politics of Regionalism

Theory and Practice

By Mary Farrell, Björn Hettne, Luk Van Langenhove

Pluto Press

Copyright © 2005 Mary Farrell, Björn Hettne and Luk Van Langenhove
All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-0-7453-2262-9

Contents

Preface, vii, 
List of Abbreviations, ix, 
1 The Global Politics of Regionalism: An Introduction Mary Farrell, 1, 
PART ONE THEORETICAL APPROACHES TO REGIONALISM, 
2 Regionalism from an Historical Perspective Louise Fawcett, 21, 
3 The Regional Dimension in International Relations Theory Andrew Hurrell, 38, 
4 Regionalism: A Constitutional Framework for Global Challenges? René Foqué and Jacques Steenbergen, 54, 
5 Economic Theories of Regional Integration Brigid Gavin and Philippe De Lombaerde, 69, 
PART TWO KEY ISSUES IN REGIONAL COOPERATION, 
6 Exploring the Links Between Micro-Regionalism and Macro-Regionalism Fredrik Söderbaum, 87, 
7 Regional Dimensions of Security Elzbieta Stadtmüller, 104, 
8 Regional Monetary Cooperation and Integration Ludo Cuyvers, Philippe De Lombaerde, Eric De Souza and David Fielding, 120, 
9 Identity and Regional Integration Nikki Slocum and Luk Van Langenhove, 137, 
PART THREE MAPPING REGIONAL APPROACHES, 
10 The Global Politics of Regionalism: Asia and the Asia-Pacific Helen E.S. Nesadurai, 155, 
11 The Global Politics of Regionalism: Africa Daniel Bach, 171, 
12 The Middle East: Regional Instability and Fragmentation Helena Lindholm Schulz and Michael Schulz, 187, 
13 North America and the Americas: Integration among Unequal Partners Robert A. Pastor, 202, 
14 Regional Integration in Europe Brigid Gavin, 222, 
15 China: Towards Regional Actor and World Player Tie Jun Zhang, 237, 
16 Regionalism in the Indian Ocean Region S. D. Muni, 252, 
PART FOUR CONCLUSION, 
17 Regionalism and World Order Björn Hettne, 269, 
Bibliography, 287, 
Notes on Editors and Contributors, 305, 
Index, 309, 

CHAPTER 1

The Global Politics of Regionalism: An Introduction

Mary Farrell

The early years of the twenty-first century have witnessed an intensification in regionalism across the globe. Just over a decade after one of the late twentieth century's defining moments, the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War, the contemporary world is characterised by a dual movement of integration and fragmentation. With the end of the former Soviet empire and the collapse of one of the post-war superpowers, in its wake came new states moving towards democracy, some by accession to the European Union (EU).

Elsewhere, renewed interest in regionalism has seen even reluctant actors move towards deeper cooperative arrangements and enhanced integration with neighbouring countries through either formal or informal institutional frameworks. One example of a region that overcame its historical reticence towards cooperative decision-making and shared sovereignty is that of the ASEAN region (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) – motivated in part by economic difficulties that many of the member countries experienced in the wake of the 1997 financial crisis. In Africa, similar moves were underway across a continent that had flirted with regional cooperation for over three decades and during this time had seen the overlapping membership of many countries in several regional organisations fail to achieve economic development in what remained the world's most impoverished region.

In the face of growing poverty, the spread of diseases such as AIDS and malaria, and almost total marginalisation in the world economy, donor aid fatigue and the general endorsement of neoliberal economic policies on the part of the international institutions, a number of African leaders began to recognise the virtue of regional and sub-regional cooperation as a possible route out of the malaise that affected the entire continent. Thus, the idea of pan-African unity put forward by Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana's first post-independence leader, was re-endorsed once more in the vision of an African Union with the Treaty signed in 2001. Almost simultaneously, the announcement of the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) suggested a rush towards cooperation among the African countries that was far removed from the leisurely pace of political and economic interaction in the wake of independence. Suddenly, the continent was hit by a spate of new initiatives, and the revival of dormant agreements as the African countries awoke to the realisation that globalisation had not brought any discernible benefits to either individual countries or the continent at large. The best option available seemed to lie with collective action in the form of enhanced regional integration, to foster formal, institutionalised cooperation alongside the informal cross-border initiatives emerging through public and/or private activity under micro-regionalism.

This volume starts from two premises. The first one is that regionalism is a response to globalisation and a reaction to the diverse aspects of global processes in their entirety. As indicated in much of the literature, globalisation is a many-faceted phenomenon, eliciting both positive and negative impacts for countries, and the latter have the opportunity to respond through regionalism as both a defensive and an offensive strategy.

The second premise is based upon the recognition that regionalism emerges from the internal dynamics of the region, and the motivations and strategies of regional actors. Just as there are many models of regionalism around the world, with no dominant paradigm to which all countries and regions subscribe, so too we can find a degree of diversity in how regionalist processes are understood and conceptualised in the literature. As Louise Fawcett has suggested, 'there is no commonly accepted view of the "the new regionalism" nor indeed of its place in any evolving international order. The debate on regionalism remains very much an open one' (Fawcett and Hurrell, 1995, 36).

Yet the regionalism processes so clearly evident in Europe, Asia and Africa did not suggest the generalisation of any particular model, least of all the European model which is often regarded as a benchmark for regional integration. As the chapters in Part Three of this volume clearly show, distinct patterns and forms of regionalism have emerged and continue to develop their own particular rhythm across the world. Shaped in part by the internal regional dynamics on the one hand, and on the other by external pressures such as globalisation, instability, security threats (both external and internal) and increased competition which affected the behaviour and strategies of both economic and political actors, regional actors sought solutions to common problems through collective actions and decision-making to foster enhanced regionalism.

One broad feature of regionalism discernible in the studies presented here is the diversity of practice that is evident in different parts of the world. A second consideration is the mixed record of success apparent in different regional groupings. An interesting and indeed intriguing question is why some countries fail to engage in successful cooperation, why some cases of regionalism make little progress beyond the initial stage of signing the treaty that is intended to form the basis of future interactions between the political and economic actors of the signatory states.

Related to the question of success or failure of regionalism are...

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: Pluto Press
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2005
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 074532262X
• ISBN 13: 9780745322629
• Einband: Taschenbuch
• Anzahl der Seiten: 336
• Herausgeber: Farrell Mary
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Nicht verfügbar
• Verantwortliche Person: gpsr@libri.de; gpsr@libri.de; ; Friedensallee 273; Hamburg; 22763; Deutschland