Regionalism and International Relations

Regionalism and

International Relations

Regionalism in historical perspective Advocacy of international regionalism was rare in the

period between World War I and World War II when the doctrine of collective security was dominant

Previous attempts to develop transnational organisations

were:– The Conferences of American States established in

1889 in order to develop closer ties between the United States and its neighbours from Latin America

– International Law Association (1873)

– Universal Postal Union (1874)

Regionalism in historical perspective

The very notion of regionalism was considered to be at odds with :

the principle of collective securitycollective security and the idea of international governmentinternational government

introduced by the League of Nations first and reinforced by the UN later


WWII was instrumental in giving political value and relevance to regionalism as this conflict:

destroyed the previous international order resized the political relevance of Europe divided the world political horizon into two opened political space for regions as

political actors

Regionalism in historical perspectiveThe situation of political stagnation introduced by the bipolar system made extremely difficult for the UN to be politically relevant in its first 20 years As a consequence regional organisations that flourished in the 60s were mainly of military nature

NATO, Warsaw Pact, CENTO, SEATO, ANZUS,

Other such as OAS were mainly meant to promote US interests within the Cold War framework

Central Treaty Organization (1955)

Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (1954)

ANZUS (1951)


Other attempts could be considered the Organisation for African Union and the Arab League

Created on the basis of “pan-” approaches they lacked the basic element of unity and shared vision among the member states

Organization of African Unity (25.05.1963)

Arab League (1945)


A completely different and more challenging approach to regionalism was offered by the Bandung Conference, the Non Aligned Movement and the G77, as they:

Challenged the existing international order Suggested a strong cooperation among weak states Tried to address collectively their claims

Regionalism in historical perspectiveHowever, regionalist experiments of the 60s failed in

introducing tangible elements of change and novelty in the broader system of international relations

A partial exception to this failure could be considered the project for the unification of Europe


Element of change can be observed from the late 70s, with the creation of:

ASEAN (1967)Caribbean Community (CARICOM,1973)ECOWAS (1975)Southern African Development Coordination Conference (SADCC,1980)Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC 1981)South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC, 1985)


In the insecure environment of the so-called “Second Cold War” those bodies represented an attempt to develop policies aimed at fostering peace and cooperation on regional level, without necessarily bending to the priorities of the two superpowers


The end of the bipolar system opened a new season of enthusiastic development for regionalism throughout the whole world

To this end one can say that the end of the diplomatic and political restrictions imposed by the bipolar system liberated new and vital energies


Partial explanation for that could be: The development of new attitudes toward

regionalism and international co-operation, not perceived as antagonistic to UN and international order

The increased decentralisation of the international system


Another reason can be found in global economic changes

Impact of the EU on NAFTA, APEC, Mercosur, Maghreb Union, Andean Union

Global economic trends (globalisation) End of “Third Worldism” substituted by a more pragmatic

and business oriented approach

Regionalism: definitions

It refers to the expression of a common sense of identity and purpose combined with the creation and implementation of institutions that express a particular identity and shape collective action within a geographical region.


Regionalism constitutes one of the three constituents of the international commercial system together with

multilateralism and

unilateralism


international regioninternational region: a limited number of states linked by a geographical

relationship and by a degree of mutual interdependence [Joseph Nye]

international regionalisminternational regionalism: the formation of interstate associations or groupings

on the basis of regions

definitions

Others contest this definition saying that we should distinguish among notions of:

regional cooperation

regional system

regional organization

regional integration and

regionalism


1) Economic and social integration within a given geographical area without political organisation

Ex. Chinese diaspora in South-East Asia

2) Shared identities within a given region How do we define the boundaries of those identities?

3) Interstate cooperation


On the basis of the number of members and extensionOn the basis of the number of members and extension:

Micro-regions (smaller than states)

Trans-boundary regions (ex Maputo Corridor)

Sub-regions

Macro-regions: encompasses several traditionally or politically defined regions


On the basis of its economic integration:

Level of interdependence (high or low)

Internal symmetry

Level of economic barriers for internal and external trade relations (High= less permeable economies; low: highly permeable economies)


On the basis of its political integrationOn the basis of its political integration:

Top – down= European Community

Bottom-up = Asian Pacific


On the basis of the presence of political leadershipOn the basis of the presence of political leadership:

If the dominant factor is the economic integration then political leadership will be less relevant

If political agenda is dominant at the beginning, then the issue of political leadership is dominant

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Regionalism and International Relations