World of Regions

A World of Regions

 Regionalism
 It can be examined in relation to identities, ethics,
religion, ecological sustainability, and health.
 It is a process, and must be treated as an “emergent,
socially constituted phenomenon.”
 Regions are not natural or given; rather, they are
constructed and defined by policymakers, economic
actors, and even social movements.
Lesson 5: A World of Regions

 How did the Philippines come to identify itself with the

Southeast Asian region?
 Why is it part of the regional group Association of South
East Asian Nations (ASEAN)?
Countries, Regions, and Globalization

 Regions
 a group of countries located in the same geographically specified
area; or
 “An amalgamation of 2 regions (or) a combination of more than 2
regions” organized to regulate and “oversee flows and policy
choices.”
 Regionalization
 “regional concentration of economic flows”
 Regionalism
 “A political process characterized by economic policy cooperation
and coordination among countries.”
Countries, Regions, and Globalization

 Countries respond economically and politically to

globalization in various ways:
 Some are large enough and have a lot of resources to
dictate how they participate in processes of global
integration.
 Other countries make up their small size by taking
advantage of their strategic location.
 In most cases, however, countries form a regional
alliance.
Countries, Regions, and Globalization

 Countries form regional associations for several reasons:

 For military defense
 Ex: North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO); Warsaw Pact
 To pool their resources, get better return for their exports as well
as expand their leverage against trading partners
 Ex: The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries
(OPEC)
 To protect their independence from the pressures of superpower
politics
 Ex: Non-Aligned Movement (NAM)
 Economic Crisis
 Ex: Thai economy collapsed in 1996
Non-State Regionalism

 This “new regionalism” varies in form. They can be:

 “tiny associations that include no more than a few actors and
focus on a single issue”; or
 “huge continental unions that address a multitude of common
problems from territorial defense to food security.”
 Rely on the power of individuals, NGOs, and associations to link up
with one another in pursuit of a particular goal(s).
 Identified with reformists who share the same “values, norms,
institutions, and system that exist outside of the traditional,
established mainstream institutions and systems.”
Non-State Regionalism

 Strategies and tactics also vary:

 Some organizations partner with governments to initiate social
change. Those who work with governments (“legitimizers”)
participate in “institutional mechanisms that afford some civil society
groups voice and influence (in) technocratic policy-making processes.”
 Ex: ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights
 Others dedicate their causes to specialized causes.
 Ex: Rainforest Foundation
 Regional Interfaith Youth Networks
Non-State Regionalism

 New regionalism differs significantly from traditional state-to-

state regionalism when it comes to identifying problems.
 Ex: Treatment of poverty and environmental degradation

 Another challenge for new regionalist is the discord that may

emerge among them.
 Ex: Gender and religion
Contemporary Challenges to Regionalism

 Regionalism faces multiple challenges:

 Resurgence of militant nationalism and
populism
The most serious
Ex: the refusal to dismantle NATO after the
collapse of the Soviet Union has become the
basis of the anti-NATO rhetoric of Vladimir
Putin in Russia.
Contemporary Challenges to Regionalism

 Regionalism faces multiple challenges:

 Continuing financial crisis
Most-crisis-ridden
Ex: The crisis experiencing by the EU is
forcing countries like Greece to consider
leaving the Union to gain more flexibility in
their economic policy.
Contemporary Challenges to Regionalism
 Regionalism faces multiple challenges:
 Continue to disagree over the extent to which member
countries should sacrifice their sovereignty for the sake
of regional stability
 Ex:ASEAN countries disagreed over how to relate to
China, with the Philippines unable to get the other
countries to support its condemnation of China’s
occupation of the West Philippine Sea.
Contemporary Challenges to Regionalism
 Regionalism faces multiple challenges:
 Differing visions of what regionalism should be for
 Westerngovernments see regional organizations not
simply as economic formations but also as
instruments of political democratization.
 Non-western
and developing societies, however, may
have a different view regarding globalization,
development, and democracy.
Conclusions

 Official regional associations cover vast swaths of the

world.
 The countries will find it difficult to reject all forms of
global economic integration, it will also be hard for them
to turn their backs on their regions.
 Regional associations emerge as new global concerns
arise.
 The future of regionalism will be contingent on the
immense changes in global politics that will emerge in the
21st century.