REGIONS • Regionalism is often seen as a political and economic phenomenon.
• It is a phenomenon in international trade where states create
groups for the purposes of trade and to collectively reduce barriers of trade among the members of a group. Most of this phenomenon appears in the form of Regional Trade Agreements (RTA)
• REGIONALISM is a process, and must be treated as an “
emergent, socially constituted phenomenon”. it means that regions are not natural or given, rather, they are constructed and defined by policymakers, economic actors, and even social movement. Basic Features of Regions
1. Regions are “a group of countries located in the same
geographically specified area” or are “an amalgation of two regions or a combination of more than two regions” organized to regulate and oversee flows and policy choices.
2. The words regionalization and regionalism should not be
interchanged, as the former refers to the “Regional concentration of economic flows” while the latter is “a political process characterized by economic policy cooperation and coordination among countries.” Regionalization is defined as an increase in the cross-border flow of capital, goods, and people within a specific geographical area. In contrast, regionalism is defined as a political will (hence ism is attached as a suffix) to create a formal arrangement among states on a geographically restricted basis. Countries Form Regional Associations for Several Reasons 1. For military defense 2. To pool their resources, get better returns for their exports, as well as expand their leverage against trading partners. 3. To protect their independence from the pressures of superpower politics. 4. Economic crisis compels countries to come together. NON – STATE REGIONALISM • It is not only states that agree to work together in the name of single cause. Communities also engage in regional organizing. • 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. • Organizations representing this “New Regionalism” likewise rely on the power of individuals, Non – Governmental Organizations (NGO’s), and association to link up with one another in pursuit of a particular goal. North-South Divide BRANDT LINE
The Brandt Line is a visual depiction of the North-South divide
between their economies, based on GDP per capita, proposed by Willy Brandt in the 1980s. It encircles the world at a latitude of 30° N, passing between North and Central America, north of Africa and India, but lowered towards the south to include Australia and New Zealand above the line. NORTH-SOUTH DIVIDE • The North-South Divide (or Rich-Poor Divide) is the socio-economic and political division that exists between the wealthy developed countries, known collectively as “the North,” and the poorer developing countries (least developed countries), or “the South.” • Although most nations comprising the “North” are in fact located in the Northern Hemisphere, the divide is not primarily defined by geography. • “The North” mostly covers the West and the First World, with much of the Second World. • The expression “North-South divide” is still in common use, but the terms “North” and “South” are already somewhat outdated. • As nations become economically developed, they may become part of the “North,” regardless of geographical location, while any other nations which do not qualify for “developed” status are in effect deemed to be part of the “South.” • The North is home to four out of five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council and all members of the G8. GLOBAL SOUTH • The Global South is a term that has been emerging in the transnational and postcolonial studies to refer to what may also be called the “Third World,” “developing countries,” “less developed countries,” and “less developed regions.” • It can also include poorer “southern” regions of wealthy “northern” countries. • Global South is more than the extension of a “metaphor for underdeveloped countries.” • In general, it refers to those countries’ “interconnected histories of colonialism, neo-imperialism, and differential economic and social change through which large inequalities in living standards, life expectancy, and access to resources are maintained.’ • Both a reality and provisional work in progress ASIAN REGIONALISM • Asian regionalism is the product of economic interaction, not political planning
• As a result of successful outward oriented growth
strategies, Asian economies have grown not only richer, but also closer together.
• East Asian economies, in particular, focused on
exporting to developed country markets rather than selling to each other. • Economies moved in formation not because they were directly linked to each other, but because they followed similar paths.
• Interdependence is deepening because Asia’s
economies have grown large and prosperous enough to become important to each other, and because their patterns of production increasingly depend on networks that span several Asian economies and involve wide ranging exchanges of parts and components among them. REGIONALISM VS GLOBALIZATION REGIONALISM VS GLOBALIZATION
Regionalism is the process of dividing an area into
smaller segments called regions. Example is the division of nation into states or provinces.
On the other hand, globalization is the process of
international integration arising from interchange of world views, products, ideas, and other aspects, such as technology, etc. • As to nature, globalization promotes the integration of economics across state borders all around the world but regionalization is precisely the opposite because it is dividing an area in smaller segments. • As to market, globalization allows many companies to trade on international level so it allows free market but in regionalized system, monopolies are likely to develop. • As to cultural and societal relations, globalization accelerate to multiculturalism by free and inexpensive movement of people but, regionalization does not support this. • As to aid, globalized international community is also more willing to come to the aid of a country stricken by a natural disaster but, a regionalized system does not get involved in the affairs of other areas. • As to technological advances, globalization has driven great advances in technology but advanced technology is rarely available in one country or region. FACTORS LEADING TO THE GREATER INTEGRATION OF THE ASIAN REGIONS • Regionalization integration is a process in which neighboring states enter into an agreement in order to upgrade cooperation through common institutions and rules.
• The objectives of the agreement could range from
economic to political to environmental, although it has typically taken the form of a political economy initiative where commercial interests are the focus for achieving broader socio-political and security objectives, as defined by national governments. • Regional integration has been organized either via supranational institutional structures or through intergovernmental decision-making, or a combination of both.
• Past efforts at regional integration have often focused
on removing barriers to free trade in the region, increasing the free movement of people, labor, goods, and capital across national borders, reducing the possibilities of regional armed conflict, and adopting cohesive regional stances on policy issues, such as environment, climate change and migration.