Regions and Regionalism in
World Politics
Chapter 5
Shaun Breslin
Regionalism
• Regionalism is the theory or practice of coordinating social,
economic or political activities within a geographical region
comprising a number of states.
• On an institutional level, regionalism involves the growth of norms,
rules and formal structures through which coordination is brought
about.
• It also implies a realignment of political identities and loyalties from
the state to the region.
• The extent of regional integration may range from cooperation
amongst sovereign states on the basis of intergovernmentalism to
the transfer of authority from states to central decision-making
bodies, in accordance with supranationalism.
(Heywood, 2011, p.482)
Overview of major points
• What drives regional processes forward?
• What are the constraints that obstruct or slow down
regional integration?
• Implications of the rise and fall of the regions for
individual states, the people of those states, and
functioning of world politics.
• To what extent development of a “regional identity”
matter?
• What regions mean for the future of the sovereign
nation states?
• Is it possible to build a national security through
regional cooperation?
European integration and the study of regions in
world politics
• Since 1980s, there have been increasing number of
regional projects in world politics.
• European experience of integration(as a continuing
response to crisis) dominates many of the regionalism
studies. Europe is the most studied and debated case.
• Majority of the regionalism studies focus on
institutions rather than processes because regionalism
in Europe has been characterized by a high degree of
institutionalization and the creation of formal regional
bodies and entities( e.g. The European Community, the
Euro, the European Parliament, and so on).
How a region should be defined?
• A region is often defined as a group of countries located in the
same geographically specified area.
• Exactly which areas constitute regions, however, remains
controversial. Some observers, for example, consider Asia-Pacific a
single region, others consider it an amalgamation of two regions,
and still others consider it a combination of more than two regions.
• Furthermore, a region implies more than just close physical
proximity among the constituent states. The United States and
Russia, for instance, are rarely considered inhabitants of the same
region, even though Russia’s eastern coast is very close to Alaska.
How a region should be defined?
• Besides proximity, many scholars insist that
members of a common region also share cultural,
economic, linguistic, or political ties
• Reflecting this position, Kym Anderson and Hege
Norheim note that ‘‘while there is no ideal
definition [of a region], pragmatism would
suggest basing the definition on the major
continents and subdividing them somewhat
according to a combination of cultural, language,
religious, and stage-of-development criteria.’
How a region should be defined?
• Various studies, however, define regions largely in terms of
these nongeographic criteria and place relatively little
emphasis on physical location. For example, France and the
Francophone countries of Northwest Africa are often
referred to as a regional grouping because of their linguistic
similarities. Also, social constructivists have argued that
countries sharing a communal identity comprise a region,
regardless of their location.
• In the latter vein, Peter J. Katzenstein maintains that
regional ‘‘geographic designations are not ‘real,’ ‘natural,’
or ‘essential.’ They are socially constructed and politically
contested and thus open to change.’’
Distinction Between Cooperation and
Integration(I)
• Functional Cooperation; limited arrangements between
states for areas such as transportation, energy or health.
• Economic Cooperation; arrangements that perceive some
commercial preferentialism but with no harmonization of
domestic rules or obligation to common action.
• Political Cooperation; refers to the mutual
support/commitment in the implementation of certain
values and practices within the countries. E.g. Cooperation
in Foreign and Security policy means that governments
system inform/consult each other and try to adopt
common position in international organization.
Distinction Between Cooperation and
Integration(II)
None of these arrangements has any
consequences for the international status of
participating countries beyond normal
obligations under international law.
Distinction Between Cooperation and
Integration(III)
• integration may refer to:
…the process of bringing together culturally
and socially discrete groups into a single
territorial unit and the establishment of a
national identity
Europe's Regionalism
“The nation-state is too big to run everyday
life, and too small to manage international
affairs. So say many of Europe's regional and
big-city leaders, who are themselves gaining
influence and authority. European cities and
regional governments are acquiring bigger
budgets and developing more professional
bureaucracies.”
http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/52645/johnnewhouse/europes-rising-regionalism
Dominance of Europe in shaping the main theories
developed to explain regional integration processes
• ASEAN(The Association of Southeast Asian Nations,
1967) for instance similarly expand to include former
Communist party states but has more looser linkages
than the more legally formalized European project.
• “ASEAN way”; consensus building rather than formal
rules. Seen as only a small part of a larger East Asian
region.
• Studies may overlook the significant integration
practices across the globe while majorly focusing on
European case.
• There is much more to regional integration than just
the European case.
The study of regionalism in seven sub-groups:
This typology provides a rough overview of the different ways in which
regionalism impact on international politics today.
(1) Theory building.
A body of work which considers how we define a region, how and why
regional integration takes place, what forces a region to cohere,
consolidate/institutionalize and survive. It asks why it occurs in some
places and not the others?
(2) The Study of Europe.
This body of work is more isolated sub-discipline even considered as EU
studies sub-discipline. It includes theories of European integration,
analyses of the consequences of regionalism, studies of the processes of
EU policy-making, the relationship between the regional and national
levels of governance and prospects for future integration.
(3) Case-specific studies of individual regions.
Seek to contribute to theory and comparative understandings, rather than
simply being concerned with events in the region under discussion. The
importance of dealing with non-traditional challanges to security has an
increasingly strong focus(the environment, infectious diseases, movement
of people, drug trafficking, and so on.)
(4) Comparative studies of different regional processes.
Focuses on different types or levels of institutionalization of regional
cooperation. At most of the time the EU taken to be the constant against
which other regional forms are compared. Non-European regions are
much more rarely compared to each other.
(5)The relationship between regionalism and world order.
The main focus of these studies is the relationship between regionalism and global
multilateralism. Are they providing us global solutions through regional free trade
arrangements and global free trade agendas.
(6) Regions as actors in international relations.
Deals with how regions can develop and promote a common/single interest in
international relations-the ‘actorness’ of regions. For example, through adopting a
single EU position in trade negotiations, the EU as a single body would enhance its
actorness.
(7) Regions and security.
Ensuring security was a key impulse in European integration. To what extent economic
interactions decrease the possibility of conflict? Thus security issues have always been
at the heart of theories and processes of regional integration.
Identifying Regions
• Continents are formed by nature, regions are formed by people;
they are politically and socially constructed. They change over time.
The focus of their activities is the main reference point while
defining a “region”.
Examples for different conceptions of region;
America
NAFTA, North American Free Trade Agreement
Since it was a trade agreement it includes Mexico because of its position as a major producer for goods fo
the US market. Mexico can be considered as a part of ‘Latin America’ in terms of culture and a history of
Spanish colonization, or part of ‘Central America’ in terms of the population settelment.
Asia
East Asian Summit[ includes India and Australasia]
ASEAN plus China, Japan, South Korea[ excludes India and Australasia]
Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)[ excludes India, includes US, Canada since they have a Pacific
Coastline]
Regional Identities
• Both regional identities and regional formations
are fluid. For instance, what is Europe or who is
European does not have to be defined by
membership of the EU.
• Feeling of being part of the region, sense of
belonging makes the regional sphere of
governance legitimate.
• Regional identity is essential for the transition
from national to regional levels of political
activity.
Which one is cause, which one is
effect?
Does the existence of a shared identity lead to
people coming together in a shared regional
effort?
(OR)
Does the creation of a region for other
reasons(establishing common laws and borders,
facilitating the flow of goods and people) leads to
the emergence of a regional identity?
References
• Heywood, Andrew, Global Politics, Palgrave
Macmillan, 2011
• Weiner, Myron (1965): “Political Integration
and Political Development”, Annals of the
American Academy of Political and Social
Science, Vol. 358, Mar