regionalism

Regionalism: 

Regionalism

Structure and Objectives of the Lecture: 

Structure and Objectives of the Lecture Section One: Definitions of region. Draw distinction between regionalisation and regionalism. Section Two: Look at pre-history or regionalism, the ‘old regionalism’ (EU) and post-war third world regionalism

Slide3: 

Section Three: Introduction to the new wave of regionalism. The renaissance of EU project and new third regionalism Section Four: Contemporary EU Section Five: Contemporary Asia Section Six: Contemporary Africa Section Seven: Contemporary America’s

Slide4: 

Section Eight (Conclusions): Draw out the main features of contemporary regionalism and draw in relevance of Amin arguments

Section One: 

Section One How do we define the region? In a sense it has a physical meaning but the concrete form that region takes is socially determined Turkey and Europe APEC (Half the World!) Australia and Asia

Slide6: 

To say socially constructed leaves open the question of what primarily forces in that construction Constructivists/ Post-Modernists focus on culture, the construction of identity etc. I would suggest that Economic logics (and geo-politics) are the master.

Slide7: 

Look at Poland! Look at Europe and Africa! Little sense of collective European identity yet success! In a sense arguing that geo-politics and economic regionalisation are key to success of political regionalism

Slide8: 

What mean by economic regionalisation is the extent to which a regional economy actually exists or the extent material basis for the development of economic actually exists Relationship between regionalisation and regionalism is complex

Slide9: 

Regionalisation without formal political co-operation is possible (Labour Movements across US border) Taiwan and China However, in most regionalisation involve some level of conscious political planning

Slide10: 

‘Asia in Japan’s Embrace’ Asian Development Bank, Overseas development aid. So there is a clear relationship between the two Mainstream regionalism in the absence of viable basis for regionalisation is doomed

Section Two: 

Section Two Regional Free Trade Agreements in the C19th Inter-War Period (Seen as hostile blocs). What is regionalism, how do we define regulation and what is simple imperialism? Some definitions seem ridiculous (Mansfield and Milner) Liberal reservations about regionalism stem from experiences of this era

Slide12: 

EU (in a sense founded in 1951) ECSC (France, West Germany, Italy, Belgium, Luxembourg and Netherlands) Monnet and Schuman Strongly supported by US Monnet and Schuman ultimately always had a Federalist vision

Slide13: 

There is no real peace in Europe, if the states are reconstituted on a basis of national sovereignty. (...) They must have larger markets. Their prosperity is impossible, unless the States of Europe form themselves in a European Federation." — Jean Monnet There is no future for the people of Europe other than in union." — Jean Monnet "Building Union among people not cooperation between states"

Slide14: 

Monnet was a economic planner for much of his career. Type of Federal Europe Monnet desired different from contemporary project. Construction of semi-open Social Market Europe

Slide15: 

At same time various regional groups formed in other areas of he world Some dominated by security in context of cold war (ASEAN 1967+ SADC 1980) Many third world regional groupings sought to limit engagement with world economy Regionalism way asserting yourself against imperialists

Slide16: 

Some formal federalist aspirations Regionalism was rendered relatively ineffective by dominance on state-building Also in so far based on free trade reproduce core-periphery relations

Section Four (EU): 

Section Four (EU) Contemporary EU project unambiguously neo-liberal (expect agriculture) Euro (regime of monetary control it establishes), restrictions on industrial policy and singular focus on competition and freedom for capital Accounting standards, banking etc.

Slide18: 

Also if we study Commission documents it clear Europe will not a fortress but a mechanism through which promote the integration of European capital into global circuits of accumulation

Slide19: 

EU becomes a mechanism to advance domestic reform

Section Five (East Asia): 

Section Five (East Asia) Regionalisation more advanced than regionalism Factors limiting regionalism: Japan, incomplete state building, the cold war and key state’s developmentalism Fairly standard to argue that regionalism was irreverent in Asia up until fairly recently

Slide21: 

Ongoing talks about Korea-Japan free trade area APEC- loose non-binding agenda setting collective (parallels with OECD, vast range of states from China, Vietnam to America). Very liberal aspirations (Bogor Goals of, "free and open trade and investment in the Asia-Pacific by 2010 for developed economies and 2020 for developing economies.")

Slide22: 

ASEAN- Free trade and Investment facilitation area (evolving out of anti-communism) Through the swift realization of an ASEAN Free Trade Area and an ASEAN Investment Area, ASEAN should continue to be an attractive place of investment for Japanese companies (from official document).

Section Six (Americas): 

Section Six (Americas) NAFTA (Canada, US and Mexico) Small environmental side deal, no real social element. Asymmetric impact (As Lester Thurow pointed out, a worst case scenario would entail the loss of 480,000 American jobs over the next five years; the best case would see the addition of 170,000 jobs) Much greater impact on Mexico and sections of the Canadian state.

Slide24: 

Other regional organisation developing in relation to NAFTA on content Mercosor (Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Venezuela, and Paraguay) Mercosor “facilitate and further domestic liberalisation and deregulation processes by putting in place reinforcing mechanisms at a regional level.” Although it has had disagreements with US

Slide25: 

Hugo Chivas ‘decontaminate it of neoliberalism’ Cuba, Venezuela and Bolivia trying to launch ‘Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas’ Andean Community of Nations (Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru)- institutionalised, formal social dimension Colombia and Peru have FTA with the US

Section Seven (Africa): 

Section Seven (Africa) New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD)- Algeria, Egypt, Nigeria, Senegal and South Africa. 2001 African Union - 2001 out of African Economic Community (AEC) and the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) Array of Sub regional groupings Community of Sahel-Saharan States (CEN-SAD) Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) East African Community (EAC) Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS/CEEAC))

Slide27: 

Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (CEMAC) Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA) West African Monetary Zone (WAMZ) Southern African Development Community (SADC, now dominated by SA) Southern African Customs Union (SACU) Arab Maghreb Union (AMU/UMA)

Slide28: 

Supported by World Bank. Post- Conditionality Intellectual leader South Africa (African Renaissance) Trevor Manuel, South Africa’s finance minister asserted, ‘there is a new resilience and a new will to succeed in the African continent. We in South Africa have called it a renaissance, a new vision of political and economic renewal. It takes the global competitive marketplace as point of departure’

Slide29: 

Problems in terms quality of competent parts Also Ingraining structural inequalities The proliferation of projects can be taken as a sign of weakness Also absurd lack of realism (2023)

Conclusions: 

Conclusions Open (empirical) question as to whether ‘social element included in particular projects Liberal obsession with trade unwarranted Backward Linkages: Mainly GCC.

Slide31: 

There is no inherent reason why regionalism needs to take the form it does Amin and Wider approach- aspirations.