KEYNOTE ADDRESS

Reinventing Caribbean Regionalism in an Emerging Multiplex World

Amitav AcharyaThe American University

Washington, D.C.@AmitavAcharya

What is a Multiplex World?

Not a Multipolar world (e.g. Europe before WW II)• Multiple scripts/actors/producers/directors: not just

great powers or just states, but IOs, NGOs, Corporations, networks (good & bad)

• Complex global interdependence among key actors, more than trade, but feature finance, production; more than economics: environment, disease, human rights, social media, etc.

• Multiple layers: global, inter-regional, regional, domestic, sub-state

• Decentered world: non-hegemonic, shared leadership. A whole new Star Trek world “where no one has gone before”.

Five Ideas for the Caribbean

• From Small State to Developmental State: not as small states with colonial identity, but a Caribbean developmental state identity

• Economic Interdependence through Production Networks and Developmental Regionalism

• Cooperative Security with all major powers: not just US or Europe, but also the emerging powers

• Empowering Regional Institutions Networked Regionalism and Participatory Regionalism

• Common Identity and Shared Leadership: A Civilization of Civilizations

Production Networks

• These economies aggressively utilize MNEs in an open setting and accept almost all sorts of such firms, which enables them to participate in international production networks and form industrial agglomerations. After this stage, local firms, entrepreneurs, and engineers increase their participation through their penetration into MNEs’ production networks. These strategies are fundamentally different from the traditional infant industry protection model or strategies involving import-substituting foreign direct investment (FDI). They also differ from a simple hosting of exporting MNEs. (Kimuar and Obashi, ADBI Report)

6

Supply chains in East Asia:The iPhone example(from Kawai, 2015)

Korea, Rep. of

Singapore

P. R. China

United States

3. Exported

2. FinishediPhone 1. Components

(screens etc.)

Taipei,China

Japan

Value-added CapturedBy Countries

P. R. China 4%

United States 6%

Others 36%

Rest of East Asia 54%

Source: Author’s calculations based on ADBI research

“Developmental Regionalism”

• Developmental regionalism encompasses cooperation among countries in a broader range of areas than just trade and trade facilitation, to include – for example – investment, research and development, as well as policies aimed at accelerating regional industrial development and regional infrastructure provision, such as the building of better networks of roads and railways.

Source: UNCTAD

Developmental Regionalism

Selective and staggered market integration policies that allows less developed members of a group more time to protect and develop specific national industries to achieve better competitiveness before they become fully part of a free trade area.