In What Ways Does Globalization Affect Regional Integration in Africa?
In what ways does globalisation affect regional integration in Africa?
Globalisation is the “coalescence of varied transnational processes and domestic structures, allowing the economy, politics, culture and ideology of one country to penetrate another.” (Mittleman 1994, 428) By its very nature it is an intrusive process, one that ignores the sovereignty of states in order to allow the features of one state to infuse into another. Its modus operandi accordingly, is the manipulation of interactions between states and their asymmetrical power relations operationalised through neo-liberal market integration approaches. This market integration can be a “totalising or homogenous force… [Or] in diverse ways accentuates regional differences.” (Mittleman 1994, 428) The effect of this process of market integration is regional cooperation and new regionalism “made possible by the collapse of the communist state and the decline of UD hegemony.” (Lee 2003, 28) Theorist such as James Mittleman and Ian Taylor advance the view, that globalisation creates the need for regional integration. The starting point for both authors is that globalisation and regional integration have a causal relationship whereby globalisation is one of the core explanatory variables for regionalism and regionalisation, and the structure they adopt. Furthermore, globalisation as a process influences and alters the nature and objectives of regional integration. Relying on these 2 theorists I will explore how the effects of globalisation affect regional integration and the objectives of its actors in Africa.
Globalisation, Power Relations and Regionalisation in the African Context
In understanding how globalisation creates interdependence amongst states we first focus our analysis on the state-level interactions of producers and purchasers of commodities. The process of globalisation is an economically driven process necessitated by the need to create markets and exchange goods and services
Globalisation is the “coalescence of varied transnational processes and domestic structures, allowing the economy, politics, culture and ideology of one country to penetrate another.” (Mittleman 1994, 428) By its very nature it is an intrusive process, one that ignores the sovereignty of states in order to allow the features of one state to infuse into another. Its modus operandi accordingly, is the manipulation of interactions between states and their asymmetrical power relations operationalised through neo-liberal market integration approaches. This market integration can be a “totalising or homogenous force… [Or] in diverse ways accentuates regional differences.” (Mittleman 1994, 428) The effect of this process of market integration is regional cooperation and new regionalism “made possible by the collapse of the communist state and the decline of UD hegemony.” (Lee 2003, 28) Theorist such as James Mittleman and Ian Taylor advance the view, that globalisation creates the need for regional integration. The starting point for both authors is that globalisation and regional integration have a causal relationship whereby globalisation is one of the core explanatory variables for regionalism and regionalisation, and the structure they adopt. Furthermore, globalisation as a process influences and alters the nature and objectives of regional integration. Relying on these 2 theorists I will explore how the effects of globalisation affect regional integration and the objectives of its actors in Africa.
Globalisation, Power Relations and Regionalisation in the African Context
In understanding how globalisation creates interdependence amongst states we first focus our analysis on the state-level interactions of producers and purchasers of commodities. The process of globalisation is an economically driven process necessitated by the need to create markets and exchange goods and services
Bibliography: Lee, Margret. The Political Economy of regionalism in Southern Africa. Boulder : Lynne Rienner, 2003. Mittleman, James. "The Globalisation Challenge: surviving at the margins." Third World Quarterly 15, no. 3 (1994): 427 - 441. Taylor, Ian. "Globalisation and regionalisation in Africa." Review of International Political Economy , 2003: 310-330.