Class and Case Studies Flashcards
German Zolleverein (1838)
*( The first example of regional integration!)
* Integration factors mainly economic, but also related to external factors -> the need for comparison with by that time bigger and stronger France
Developed from customs union of 1828 between Prussia and Hesse-Darmstadt; all German states eventually joined; laid down the economic foundation for the political unification of Germany. Common area for German-speaking areas- model of society organized in one entity, shared sovereignty, political unity as a result of integration.
* Deutscher Geist (National spirit) -> not really. The integration based on economic need to fill in the treasuries, not on national impetus/sentiment.
* Complex intellectual operation beyond economic forces to justify the birth of the new economic and political subject (creation of Ideology)
* Regional integration brought about national unification
Factors of integration= real motivation vs idealistic ideas of unification
* Demand for integration: *trade(innovations and larger production), *comparison with other states around the German confederation (notably France) and *workers, farmers, marchants: customs duties were the main sources of public income and direct imposition was light, to rationalize customs meant to lower taxes.
* Enlargement issue
* The supply of integration
The scheme
->Creation of a original union -> Demand and supply conditions are met -> Perceptibble negative external effect on outsiders -> Willingness to pay membership price (->First Integrative response: joining of union) / Unwilligness to pay membership price (-> Second integrative response: creation of a counter-union -> demand and supply conditions are met -> success)
* More less valid for every regional integration phenomena
* Need to pay attention to external factors, controllers of the processes - League of Nations, EU, UN
Processes in Europe: before the Second World War
The European economic/integration process as a model
ECSC (European Coal and Steel Community) 1950
Paymaster: France
Demand for integration: peace (reconciliation), security
(France vs. Germany), low prices for raw materials demanded by
selected industrial sector (mechanic industry)
Supply of integration: stability, confidence, progress, and improvement of economic conditions in the six countries
= Success story
EEC (European Economic community) 1957
Paymaster: n/a (proposal made by the Netherlands and
Belgium, with active support by Germany and, partially, Italy;
France remained sceptic in the first phase. In other words: every
nation had its own interest in supporting or opposing this
project)
Demand of integration: positive experience of the
cooperation instruments set for the Marshall Plan (OECE,
European Payments Union); demand for lower customs duties
between the six countries participating in the ESCC; industrial
power supply issues (Euratom); interests in a wider common
market; agriculture
Supply of integration: political consent, conditions for a
wider economic integration, selfishness.
EU
Shangai Cooperation Organization 1996
Members: “Shangai five”: Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.
Now comprised of eight member states: China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Pakistan and Uzbekistan (with Iran soon to join).
Unbalanced organization
- Russia consider SCO a strategic way to penetrate in the Asia region, to maintain its influence in the Central Asia region and to control Chinese economic expansion
- China consider SCO an instrument to obtain Russian military technology, to ease its relations with Russia, to secure its borders and to improve military cooperation
Artic Council 1996
8: Canada, Norway, United States, Russia,
Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Sweden
* 6 organizations representing arctic peoples (Inuits,
Athabaskans, Saamis and s.o.)
Aims:
– to protect arctic peoples (culture, environment, wellness)
– To control and coordinate forms of economic exploitation
– Dialogue with united nations rules and international laws (such as, for instance, UNCLOS)
– Every military involvement of participant parties is formally excluded
* Institutional structure
– Arctic Council Secretariat (ACS - Administrative and organizational support, no decisional role),
– Working groups of different nature: environmental (A. Contaminants Action Program, Protection of the Arctic Marine Environment and s.o.)
– All these bodies act under supervision of the AC Secretariat, but without binding member states who remain free to accept or not ACS decisions
– Consensus is the voting method…
ASEAN (Association of South-East Asian Nations) 1967
And APT (ASEAN plus three)
Founded by 5 members: Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand (Bangkok declaration)
(Now: + Myanmar, Cambodia, Brunei, Laos and Vietnam)
The contest is the Vietnam war: an attempt to prevent any
“ideological invasion” by communism.
Goals: stability and security. “Foundation for a prosperous and peaceful community of South-East Asian Nations”.
After the end of Vietnam war we assist to an evolution of the
immobile ASEAN.
* During the first ASEAN summit held in Bali in 1976, decided to improve commercial and industrial links as a response to the stability issues in the regions.
* Note: external trade was dominant in comparison with intra-ASEAN trade, which was
minimal. The word “improve” has a greater sense in this context.
- Four instruments:
1 - PTAs: preferential trading arrangements. Tariff preferences on approved imports (less than 1% products of total intra-ASEAN
trade were affected)
2 - AIPs: ASEAN Industrial Projects. Large scale industrial projects where ASEAN countries hold stakes. The output of these projects would enjoy tariff preferences. Only two projects still existing out of the five started.
3 – AICs: ASEAN industrial complementation. To promote trade in selected manufactured products within ASEAN (mainly valid for spare parts and components in automotive industry)
4 – AIJVs: ASEAN Industrial Joint Ventures. 23 joint ventures
Problem:
- differences in development conditions
- Small intra-ASEAN trade in comparison with external trade (5
percent of the total, slightly lowered since 1960s).
- Intra-ASEAN FDI (foreign direct investment) are a small fraction of the total (10 percent) and it comes mainly from
Singapore (90 percent)
- Therefore, in its first years ASEAN worked mainly as a stability and security forum, more than an instruments to improve
trade and economic cooperation.
- The sixth member, Brunei Darusslam entered in 1984.
- ASEAN way: consultation, non intervention in domestic taffairs, smooth approach on the problem of human rights violations
APT (Asean plus three)
* Very recent evolution in the Asean politics -> APT cooperation process began in December 1997 with the convening of an Informal Summit. -> The APT Summit was institutionalized in 1999 when the Leaders issued a Joint Statement on East Asia Cooperation at the 3rd APT Summit in Manila.
– Asean members plus China, Japan, South Korea
– Useful instrument for Beijing: it allows a deepening of its relations with Japan and South-Korea; opens the Japanese and South Korean IIT trade to China; maintains China’s political role in the area
– Related to the APT there are also the CAFTA (China-Asean free trade area, only for selected products) and the Asean Regional Forum (ARF) with 27 members:
Australia, Bangladesh, Brunei, Cambodia, Canada, China, North Korea, South Korea, Japan, the Philippines, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malesia, Myanmar, Mongolia, New Zealand, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Russia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailandia, Timor East, USA, Europan Union and Vietnam
NAFTA (North American Free Trade Area) 1994
Canada-US Free Trade Agreement (1989)
Members: United States, Canada, Mexico.
Objective: removal of all tariffs and most quantitative restrictions by 1999. Liberalization of trade in services, government procurement, and investment. -> NAFTA as a new, improved and expanded version of US-Canada FTA (1988).
*Phased elimination of tariffs and most non-tariff barriers on regional trade within ten years. Important-sensitive products 15 year transition period.
*Common regulations
*Settlement of disputes (international arbitrate)
Side agreements:
-North American Agreement for Environmental Cooperation (NAAEC)
-North American Agreement on Labor Cooperation (NAALC)
Other bodies:
-North American Commission for Environmental Cooperation (NACEC)
- North American Development Bank (NADBank)
- Border Environmental Cooperation Commission
(BECC)
- The system is based upon a set of intergovernmental agreements
- No common institutions (USA would never accept to bind to this kind of institutions)
- Negotiated regulations applied case by case by national laws
- No supranationalism (as, for instance, in the European case)
- No spill-over effect
Canada
- A clear, long lasting interest in promoting deeper relations with the USA
- Similar socio-economic structure, with some significant difference
-feeling to be part of a north American Anglo-Saxon community (this feeling relevant
during the 30s)
- detachment from the British economic and political influence (a process concluded in 1965, with the end of the Ottawa “imperial preferences” system)
Why Mexico?
– To control immigration (border control)
– Labour market interests in a more flexible – and cruel –environment (low wages in Mexico and/or for immigrants)
– To orient and control the political situation in Mexico
– To implement more instruments to fight drug
dealers
TTIP (Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership)
MERCOSUR (Mercado Común del Sur) 1991
Part of 2nd wave of integration in LATAM.
Members: Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay.
Objective: the creation of a single market in goods, capital, and people by January 1995, but the treaty was amended by the Protocol of Ouro Preto in December 1994 with members agreeing on an imperfect customs union by January 1995.
1995: 5-year program under which it hopes to perfect customs union.
CET (Common external tariff): 0-20% (14%); temporary exemption for up to 300 products.
Executive power: governments
Institutions:
- MERCOSUR Council: four ministers (foreign affairs or finance).
Presidency for six months on a rotating basis. Every six months there was a summit with the four presidents (similar to the EU Council of Ministers/European Council)
- MERCOSUR group: officials from the four governments (similar to the EU Coreper)
- Parliamentary Commission, PARLASUR (similar to the
European Parliament but with less powers: no legislative
competence)
- Consultative forum for private sector business and trade
unions (similar to the EU Social and Economic Council)
- MERCOSUR Secretariat, purely administrative
Side effects:
- Andean Pact (as we remember, a consequence of the division inside the LAFTA: Chile, Bolivia, Peru, Colombia and Ecuador). In 1990 these members decided to consolidate the free-trade zone. Common market but not customs union until 1995
- CACM. In 1993 CACM signed the Central American Economic Integration Treaty, later SICA (System of Central American integration).
LAFTA (Latin American Free Trade Association) 1960-1980
LAIA (Latin American Integration Association) 1980- now
Part 1st wave of integration in LATAM.
Members: Mexico and South America (except Guyana, French Guiana, and Suriname) -> 13 countries: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela.
Objective: free trade association with joint industrial planning. Common list of products to be liberalized by 1972. Partial implementation in the 60s. Common list not liberalized on schedule.
1980: LAFTA was replaced by Latin American Integration Association (LAIA)
1990: Announcement of renewed tariff reductions and trade liberalization.
Causes:
*European Common Market
*Less transfer of exports from LA to Europe (increasing trade relations between Europe and African countries, former colonies).
Failure:
*No trade expansion. Intraregional trade was 8.7 percent of the total trade of participant countries from 1952 to 1960, while it was only 7.9 percent from 1961 to 1964. -> Change in the trade international rules (GATT negotiations) -> lowered trade tariffs boosting the external trade of the LAFTA countries much more than their internal (regional) trade. -> LAFTA wasn’t necessary to increase the external trade of its members.
*Several attempts to create a council of ministers failed too (third regulatory body similar to the EC).
*Lack of a clear leadership. Neither Brazil nor Argentina were willing to play this role.
*Development differences between participant states (three groups). -> No compensation mechanisms, nor any states willing to enforce them.
GCC: Gulf Cooperation Council 1981
- Six countries (Oman, Bahrein, UAE, Kuwait, Qatar and Saudi
Arabia) initiated this process, moving from the existence of some form of industrial cooperation such as the GOIC (Gulf Organization for
Industrial Consulting) - The first reason was to avoid consequences after UK left the region
- May 1976 was the date of the first proposal, made by Emir Sheikh Jamer al-Ahmad al-Sabah to his brother, Sheikh Zayed bin-Sultan al-Nahyan of the UAE
*Morocco, Jordan, Iraq and Yemen are perspective members (Jordan is the more close to an accession); Yemen is the most problematic
case because of the state of the relations with Saudi Arabia.
Goals: mainly economic, but also political…
- To define similar regulations in several fields: finance, trade, customs, tourism, general legislation and administration (also
religion is involved)
- To promote scientific and technical progress in industry, mining, agriculture, water (this field is particularly affected by a giant project to share water resources)
- Common scientific research centers
- Setting up industrial and economic joint ventures
- Unified military – “Peninsula shield force” already active
- Establishing a common currency: the khaleeji
All have been partly or fully achieved.
GCC is a very active and dynamic organization
In particular:
- Customs union was completed in 2015
- Single market is planned to be completely active in the next years, with a road map clearly defined after the EU model: free movement of people, goods, capital and services.
Reasons for a success
- All these countries have a limited internal democratic debate
- All the GCC leaders are “absolute” leaders (monarchs that are constitutional only by name); frequently they are also prominent religious leaders, therefore there is broad consensus around their decisions
- Very similar social structure
- Quite simple economic systems
Arab League 1945
Founded in Cairo on 22 March 1945 with six members: Kingdom of Egypt, Kingdom of Iraq, Transjordan (later Jordan), Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Syria and Yemen (since May 1945)
* 22 members in 2017.
Aims
- To coordinate political issues
- To integrate economic systems and activities
- To resolve disputes without external intervention
- Full respect of states’ sovereignties
Institutional framework
* The Council
* The Committees
– The Committee for Political Affairs
– The Committee for Economic Affairs
– The Committee for Social and Cultural Affairs
– The Committee for Administrative and Financial Affairs
– The Committee for Legal Affairs
