Regionalisation
A Review of Richard Stubbs Regionalization and Globalization.
When Ernst Haas presaged in 1975 that regional integration was obsolete he was way off the mark at how hotly debated in intellectual circles regionalism would become in the preceding decades. The debate a classic neo functionalist argument, has become a topic discussed by rationalists and reflective scholars. In political circles the creation of co-operative ties between different social units as a way to foster economic and social welfare is also becoming a priority.(Palmer 1991) Stubbs analyses factors that have influenced a new regionalization but stops short on predicting universal globalization instead presents reasons why regionalization could prevent globalization.
Regionalism has been studied since the 1950s, interest dried up when Haas published ‘The obsolesce of regional integration theory” in 1975(Hutchings 2009) but again enjoyed a revival in the 1980s. In this chapter part of “Political economy and the changing global order”(Stubbs and Underhill) Stubbs discusses what he believes are the three main reasons why regionalism will again be a feature of international relations.
Firstly, with the end of the cold war in 1991 Stubbs believes that “the breakdown of the overarching cold war structure’ that had a causal effect on all international relations; nations needed to align or realign themselves with the emerging powers to guarantee economic and social stability. Nations realised that there neighbours were sharing the same kinds of problems and that there success depended on stability in the region they were located in. If they grouped together they could work together to build security and prosperity. Secondly, there was new sources of global capital brought about by globalisation and capitalism and each state wanted to reap the benefits but they also seen regionalism as a way to defend against globalisation. There was new pressures from globalisation as well as intergovernmental
When Ernst Haas presaged in 1975 that regional integration was obsolete he was way off the mark at how hotly debated in intellectual circles regionalism would become in the preceding decades. The debate a classic neo functionalist argument, has become a topic discussed by rationalists and reflective scholars. In political circles the creation of co-operative ties between different social units as a way to foster economic and social welfare is also becoming a priority.(Palmer 1991) Stubbs analyses factors that have influenced a new regionalization but stops short on predicting universal globalization instead presents reasons why regionalization could prevent globalization.
Regionalism has been studied since the 1950s, interest dried up when Haas published ‘The obsolesce of regional integration theory” in 1975(Hutchings 2009) but again enjoyed a revival in the 1980s. In this chapter part of “Political economy and the changing global order”(Stubbs and Underhill) Stubbs discusses what he believes are the three main reasons why regionalism will again be a feature of international relations.
Firstly, with the end of the cold war in 1991 Stubbs believes that “the breakdown of the overarching cold war structure’ that had a causal effect on all international relations; nations needed to align or realign themselves with the emerging powers to guarantee economic and social stability. Nations realised that there neighbours were sharing the same kinds of problems and that there success depended on stability in the region they were located in. If they grouped together they could work together to build security and prosperity. Secondly, there was new sources of global capital brought about by globalisation and capitalism and each state wanted to reap the benefits but they also seen regionalism as a way to defend against globalisation. There was new pressures from globalisation as well as intergovernmental
References: Hutchings,R ‘Transatlantic relations since the end of the cold war’ permanent alliance or partnership in peril. Ch 11 pg 231 2009 Palmer D Section III: Regional Dynamics Stubbs R Asia-Pacific Regionalization and the Global Economy: A Third Form of Capitalism? Vol. 35, No. 9 (Sep., 1995), pp. 785-797 Richard Stubbs and Austina J. Reed, Introduction: Regionalism and Globalization , McMaster University 2005 Section III: Regional Dynamics Yu, Hyen-seok “Asian perspective, Vol 27, No 1 2003,pp 261-288