World of Regions Lesson Expectations: 1. Look at the regions as political entities 2. Examine what brings regions together as they interlock with globalization 3. Explore the other facets of regionalism, especially those that pretend to identities, ethics, religion, ecological, sustainability, and health. 4. Conclude by asking where all of this regionalism is bringing us members of the nation and as a citizen of the world. World of Regions - According to Edward Mansfield and Helen V. Milner, “economic and political definitions of regions vary, but there are certain basic features that everyone can agree on”. Region - A group of countries located in the same geographical or specified area, or an amalgamation of two regions, or a combination of more than two regions organized to regulate and oversee the flows in policy choices - Example of regions are Europe, central and eastern Europe region, Asian region, African region, the Mediterranean, the middle east, and the America. - regions are made up of nations or countries. Regionalization - A regional concentration of economic flows, and its process of dividing an area into smaller segments called regions. - example of regionalization is the division of nation into different states or provinces. - Businesses use this regionalization as a management tool and a way to make certain needs unique to a particular area. Regionalism - A political process characterized by economic policy, cooperation and coordination among countries. - A political ideology. - Seek to increase political power or influence of the people of one or more subnational regions. - Focuses on the development of a political or social system based on one or more regions. Countries Respond Economically and Politically to globalization in various ways. 1. Some countries are large enough and have a lot of resources to dictate how they participate in the process of global integration, Example, China offers its cheap and huge workforce to attract foreign businesses and expand trade with other countries. Same with the US and Japan 2. Other countries also make-up for their small size by taking advantage, their strategic location. Example, Singapore and Switzerland are small countries. They compensate for their lack of resources into financial banking hubs. Despite its small size, according to the Ambassador to Singapore, Kathleen Char McFarland, Singapore, sit stride, one of the most important geo strategically important locations in the world. It is the economic gateway between the east and the west as one of the world's most important trade route on the Malacca Strait, and it is the world's largest transshipment port. Singapore is the security gateway between east and the West as the entrance to the South China Sea. 3. In most cases, however, countries form regional alliances because they believe that there is a strength in numbers. When we talk about alliance, this is international relations. Either a formal agreement between two or more states or countries for mutual support in case of war. Contemporary alliances provide for combined action on the part of two or more independent states, and are generally defensive in nature. Obligating allies to join forces if one or more of them is attacked by another state or coalition. 3.1. Military Defense ● North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) - The most widely known defense grouping - Formed during the Cold War. This was when the Western European countries and United States agreed to protect Europe, against the threat of the Soviet Union ● Warsaw Pact. - The Soviet Union responded by creating a regional, another regional alliance - Consisting of the Eastern European countries under Soviet domination. - The Soviet Union deployed in December, 1991, but NATO still remains in its place, 3.2. Countries form regional organizations because they need to pool their resources to get better returns for their exports, as well as expand their leverage against the trading partners. ● Organization of the Petroleum Countries (OPEC) - - Established in 1960, Iran, the countries Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia. and Venezuela. Formed to regulate the production and the sale of oil. So this regional alliance flexed its muscles in the 1970s when its member countries took over the domestic production and dictated the crude oil prices in the world. OPEC success convinced nine other oil producing countries to join them. 3.3. To protect their independence from the pressures of superpower politics. ● Non-Allied Movement (NAM) - Presidents of Yugoslavia, Egypt, Ghana, and Indonesia created the non allied movement (NAM) in 1961 - To pursue world peace and international cooperation, human rights, national sovereignty, racial and national equality, and non-intervention and peaceful conflict resolution. - 120 member countries. - The movement was never formalized and continues to exist up to present, although it lacks the same favor that it had in the past. 3.4. Economic crisis compels countries to come together. - Example, the Thailand economy collapsed in 1996, after the foreign currency, speculators and troubled international banks demanded that the Thai government pay its loan. There was a rapid withdrawal of foreign investments which bankrupped the the economy of Thailand. Crisis began to spread to other Asian countries as their currencies were also devalued in foreign investment left in a hurry. The IMF tried to reverse the crisis, but it was only after the ASEAN countries Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, China, Japan and South Korea agreed to establish an emergency fund to anticipate a crisis that ASEAN economies stabilized. NON-STATE REGIONALISM The crisis made ASEAN more united and coordinated. It is not only the state or countries that agreed to work or to join together in the name of a single cause or because of one reason. New Regionalism - Communities engage in regional organizing - Small associations that include no more than a few actors and focus on a single issue, or huge continental unions that address a multitude common problems from territorial defense to food security. - - Organizations representing new regionalism rely on the power of individual, nongovernment organizations (NGOs) and associations to link up with one another in pursuit of a particular goal. Identified with reformists who share the same values, norms, institutions and systems that exist outside of the traditional and established mainstream institutions and systems. Some organizations, Partner with the government to initiate social change. - Example, ASEAN issued its human rights declaration in 2009, but the regional body left it to the member countries to apply the declarations principles as they see fit. Aware of those democratic rights are limited in many ASEAN countries. These new regionalism organizations use this declaration to pressure these governments to pass laws. Other Organizations dedicate themselves to specialized causes Rainforest Foundation - which is established by activists across Central and South America. - the aim of this organization is to protect the indigenous people and the rainforest of Brazil, Guyana, Panama and Peru. Regional Interfaith Youth Networks - formed by the young Christians across Africa, the Middle East, the Americas, and the Caribbean. - the aim is to promote conflict prevention, conflict resolution, peace, education and sustainable development. Migrant Forum in Asia. - An NGO and Tradeable Union, which is committed to protect and promote the rights and the welfare of the migrant workers. These organizations primarily lie in their moral standing and their ability to combine lobbying with pressure politics. Unfortunately most of them are poorly financed, this places them at a disadvantage when dealing with their official counterparts who have large state funds. Their impact in global politics, however, or therefore is limited. This new regionalism differs significantly from the traditional to state regionalism. When it comes to identifying problems, for example, state treat poverty organization environment degradation as technical or economic issues that can be resolved by refining existing programs of state agencies and making minor changes in economic policies and creating new offices that address this issue. However, new regionalism advocates such as the NGO Global Forum, see these issues as reflections of a flawed economic development and environmental modern. Today, this region faces multiple challenges and the most serious of which is the resurgence of militant nationalism and populism. The relationship, for example, the United States and NATO. The Alliance Core member with NATO has become problematic after Donald Trump demonizes the organization as simply he believed that it is just leeching American military power without giving anything in return. Another example is the most crisis regional organization today is the European Union. The continuing financial crisis of the regions, forcing countries like Greece to consider leaving the union who gain more flexibility in their economic policy. Anti-immigrant sentiment and populist campaigns against Europe have already led to the United Kingdom voting to leave the European Union in the move the media has termed it Brexit. (BREXIT - 'Britain' and 'exit', refers to the withdrawal process of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU). In Asia, like ASEAN members continue to disagree over the extent to which member countries should sacrifice their sovereignty for the sake of regional stability. Recently, ASEAN countries also disagreed over how to relate to China. The Philippines enabled other countries to support the condemnation of China's occupation in the West Philippine Sea. The final challenge to regionalism is the differing visions of what regionalism should be. For the Western governments they see regional organizations not simply as an economic formation, but also an instrument of political democratization. On the other hand, the nonWestern and developing societies, however, may have a different view regarding globalization development and democracy like Singapore, China, and Russia, they see democracy as an obstacle to the implementation and the deepening of economic globalization because constant public inquiry about economic projects and lengthy debate slowed down the implementation or lead to an unclear outcomes. The factors or the difference between globalization and regionalism is that globalization, as we all know, signifies the events relating to the globe over the world, and it is the way countries and people of the world interact or integrate. The term regionalization referred to the event across regions that are sub global, like Europe, Northern America, Amazon, Brazil, ASEAN, and these regions are formed by two factors. 1. Physical Factors. - defined by the landforms, like continent, mountain ranges, soil, natural vegetations, and another one. 2. Cultural Factor - distinguished by such traits, languages, politics, religions, economic and industries. These regions are kept together through the following: 1. natural factor 2. history factor 3. Administration 4. Polarization 5. communication Factors leading to greater integration of the ASEAN Region 1. trade 2. similar culture 3. common goals 4. mutual beliefs 5. similar security needs. The history of regionalism shows that regional cessations emerge as the new global concern arises. The future of this regionalism will be contingent on the immense changes in the global politics that will emerge in the 21st century.
