Regionalism: Old and New

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International Studies Review (2003) 5, 25-52

Regionalism: Old and New

RAIMO VÄYRYNEN

University of Notre Dame and Helsinki Collegium for Advanced Studies,
University of Helsinki

This review of recent literature on political, economic, and cultural regionalism shows that this area of inquiry has become increasingly fragmented not only as a result of debates between the protagonists of methodological approaches but also because of underlying changes in international relations. Traditional views concerning the state-centric regional system are being challenged by the concentration of political and military power at the top as well as by transnational networks built around economic ties and cultural identities. Early post-Cold War expectations that regions and regional concerts would form the foundation for a new international order have proven untenable. Instead, regions appear to arise either through the dissemination of various transactions and externalities or as protection against the hegemony of capitalist globalization and great-power politics. Older conceptions of regionalism need to be redefined and reintegrated into current international relations theories.

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The purpose of this essay is to introduce and evaluate recent scholarship (for example, Lake and Morgan 1997; Mansfield and Milner 1997; Scott 1998; Solingen 1998; Baldwin et al. 1999; Hettne, Inotai, and Sunkel 1999; Hook and Kearns 1999; Mattli 1999; Page 2000) examining security and functional regions, juxtaposing

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