Regionalism and its significance

Question 1

What is regionalism?

Answer 1

• Nation-states in the same geographical location agree to establish shared governing institutions, creating greater cooperation and understanding to achieve collective positive outcomes.
• Agrees to place limits on state sovereignty (advanced examples is the EU and less ambitious examples is the Arab League).

Question 2

What is sovereignty?

Answer 2

Total power and authority - according to Westphallian values, nations are typically sovereign over everything that occurs within their borders.

Question 3

What are the three types of regionalism?

Answer 3

• Economic regionalism
• Security regionalism
• Political regionalism

Question 4

Define economic regionalism

Answer 4

• Process by which states eliminate trade barriers (tarrifs) to encourage investment which contributes to stronger, regional economic growth.
• Liberals claims it is a crucial way of encouraging cooperation, stability and peace - less likely to go to war with each other.
• Liberal economist, Frederic Bastiat = ‘if goods do not cross borders, armies will’.

Question 5

Security regionalism

Answer 5

• Enhances security by encouraging cooperation = OSCE brings together US/Canada with the European/Central Asian states, providing a forum in which members try resolve crises that may threaten peace.
• Establishes a security alliance against external aggression (NATO commits its membership to collective security against outside military challenges).
• Sometimes centred on the movement of people - maintains a common policy to restrict immigration from further afield or to prevent illegal asylum seekers - significant discussion within the EU and ‘migrant crisis’ further worsened by Brexit

Question 6

Define political regionalism

Answer 6

• Enables distinct parts of the world with shared political and cultural values to represented more forcefully in global relations.
• EXAMPLE = the Arab League and African Union provides a way to represent Arab and African opinions in international dialogue.

Question 7

Debates and significance of regionalism

Relationship between regionalism and globalisation

Answer 7

• Can take advantage of EG (EU has more power to negotiate favourable trade deals, e.g negotiating the Transatlantic trade and Investment partnership with the USA as one body).
• Protects a region from competition from other regions (EU has a common external tarrif and Common Agricultural Policy subsidies European agriculture) and protection of workers from transnational cooperations.
• Political regional organisation (Arab League) encourage culturally and ethnically linked countries to maintain their distinct heritage in response to cultural homonogenisation.
• Globalisation makes borders more porus, leaving nations vulnerable to drug traffiking, terrorism, organised crime and the spread of mass destruction - reg allows a coordinated response to such threats (ASEAN shares intelligence through its ‘Our Eyes programme’ and Europol coordinates intelligence gathering among the EU).
• Provides ways to maximise their national interest through interdependence, suggesting regional organisations can have both a realist and liberal perspective.

Question 8

Impact on state sovereignty: Realism and Liberalism

Answer 8

• Depends on how much regionalism is conducted - if it’s intergovernmental, there is minimal impact but if it’s supranational, there is a necessary erosion to succeed.
• LIBERALS = cooperation is good - strengthens states and is the only effective way in an interconnected world.
• REALISTS = ultimately, it’s futile because states will continue to act in self-interest, with strong states abusing the system or ignoring it entirely (reclaim sovereignty).