Explaining the resurgence of regionalism in world politics
01 Oct 1995-Review of International Studies (Cambridge University Press)-Vol. 21, Iss: 04, pp 331-358
TL;DR: The past decade has witnessed a resurgence of regionalism in world politics as discussed by the authors and the call for strengthened regionalist arrangements have been central to many of the debates about the nature of the post-Cold War international order.
Abstract: The past decade has witnessed a resurgence of regionalism in world politics. Old regionalist organizations have been revived, new organizations formed, and regionalism and the call for strengthened regionalist arrangements have been central to many of the debates about the nature of the post-Cold War international order. The number, scope and diversity of regionalist schemes have grown significantly since the last major ‘regionalist wave’ in the 1960s. Writing towards the end of this earlier regionalist wave, Joseph Nye could point to two major classes of regionalist activity: on the one hand, micro-economic organizations involving formal economic integration and characterized by formal institutional structures; and on the other, macro-regional political organizations concerned with controlling conflict. Today, in the political field, regional dinosaurs such as the Organization of African Unity (OAU) and the Organization of American States (OAS) have re-emerged. They have been joined both by a large number of aspiring micro-regional bodies (such as the Visegrad Pact and the Pentagonale in central Europe; the Arab Maghreb Union (AMU) and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in the Middle East; ECOWAS and possibly a revived Southern African Development Community (SADC, formerly SADCC) led by post-apartheid South Africa in Africa), and by loosely institutionalized meso-regional security groupings such as the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE, now OSCE) and more recently the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF). In the economic field, micro-regional schemes for economic cooperation or integration (such as the Southern Cone Common Market, Mercosur, the Andean Pact, the Central American Common Market (CACM) and CARICOM in the Americas; the attempts to expand economic integration within ASEAN; and the proliferation of free trade areas throughout the developing world) stand together with arguments for macro-economic or ‘bloc regionalism’ built around the triad of an expanded European Union (EU), the North American Free Trade Area (NAFTA) and some further development of Asia-Pacific regionalism. The relationship between these regional schemes and between regional and broader global initiatives is central to the politics of contemporary regionalism.
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01 Jan 2000
TL;DR: The seeker after the truth is not one who studies the writings of the ancients and, following his natural disposition, puts his trust in them, but rather, one who suspects his faith in them and questions what he gathers from them, the one who submits to argument and demonstration, and not to the sayings of a human being whose nature is fraught with all kinds of imperfection and deformation as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: Therefore, the seeker after the truth is not one who studies the writings of the ancients and, following his natural disposition, puts his trust in them, but rather the one who suspects his faith in them and questions what he gathers from them, the one who submits to argument and demonstration, and not to the sayings of a human being whose nature is fraught with all kinds of imperfection and de‹ciency. Thus the duty of the man who investigates the writings of scientists, if learning the truth is his goal, is to make himself the enemy of all that he reads, and, applying his mind to the core and margins of its content, attack it from every side. He should also suspect himself as he performs his critical examination of it, so that he may avoid falling into either prejudice or leniency. (Ibn al-Haytham)1
512 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors analyze longitudinal data on international commodity trade using the social network approach and find that the world became increasingly globalized between 1959 and 1996 in the sense that each country studied traded with more countries in 1996 than in 1959.
Abstract: Although there have been heated debates over globalization and regionalization, refined empirical research has been lacking. Defining globalization and regionalization as specific types of linkages between countries, we attempt to empirically examine the following: (1) Has the world been globalized and/or regionalized? and (2) If it has, what are the consequences of these processes? To explore these questions, we analyze longitudinal data on international commodity trade using the social network approach. Data analysis shows that the world became increasingly globalized between 1959 and 1996 in the sense that each country studied traded with more countries in 1996 than in 1959. As a result, the world trade network became denser. At the core of this process has been the development of countries in the middle strata. We also find that the structure of the world trade network became decentralized over time, a change that provides greater support for neoclassical economic theory than for world-system/dependency theory. Regarding regionalization, we find that intraregional density is greater than interregional density and that intraregional ties are stronger than interregional ones. Moreover, both intraregional and interregional density increased significantly between 1959 and 1996, indicating, first, that the flow of world trade became regionalized and, second, that globalization and regionalization are not contradictory processes.
281 citations
Book•
15 Jun 2007
TL;DR: This article studied China in an era of globalization and found that the transition from socialism was an embedded Socialist Compromise, and that China's engagement with the global economy beyond bilateralism was re-engagement with the Global economy beyond Bilateralism.
Abstract: Introduction: China - Yes, But... Studying China in an Era of Globalization The Transition from Socialism: An Embedded Socialist Compromise? Re-Engagement with the Global Economy Beyond Bilateralism: What the Statistics Don't Tell Us Interpreting Chinese "Power" in the Global Political Economy The Domestic Context: Stretching the Social Fabric? Conclusions
161 citations
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...List of Abbreviations vii...
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References
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01 Jan 1993
TL;DR: In this paper, Drucker describes how every few hundred years a sharp transformation has taken place and greatly affected society - its worldview, its basic values, its business and economics, and its social and political structure.
Abstract: From the Publisher:
A probing and incisive analysis of the major world transformation from the Age of Capitalism to the Knowledge Society and how it will affect society, economics, business, and politics now and in the years ahead. In Post-Capitalist Society Peter Drucker describes how every few hundred years a sharp transformation has taken place and greatly affected society - its worldview, its basic values, its business and economics, and its social and political structure. According to Drucker, we are right in the middle of another time of radical change, from the Age of Capitalism and the Nation-State to a Knowledge Society and a Society of Organizations. The primary resource in the post-capitalist society will be knowledge and the leading social groups will be "knowledge workers." Looking backward and forward, Drucker discusses the Industrial Revolution, the Productivity Revolution, the Management Revolution, and the governance of corporations. He explains the new functions of organizations, the economics of knowledge, and productivity as a social and economic priority. He covers the transformation from Nation-State to Megastate, the new pluralism of political systems, and the needed government turnaround. Finally, Drucker details the knowledge issues and the role and use of knowledge in post-capitalist society. Divided into three parts - Society, Polity, and Knowledge - Post-Capitalist Society provides a searching look into the future as well as a vital analysis of the past, focusing on the challenges of the present transition period and how, if we can understand and respond to them, we can create a new future.
4,459 citations
01 Jan 1984
TL;DR: Keohane as mentioned in this paper analyzes the institutions, or "international regimes", through which cooperation has taken place in the world political economy and describes the evolution of these regimes as American hegemony has eroded.
Abstract: This book is a comprehensive study of cooperation among the advanced capitalist countries. Can cooperation persist without the dominance of a single power, such as the United States after World War II? To answer this pressing question, Robert Keohane analyzes the institutions, or "international regimes," through which cooperation has taken place in the world political economy and describes the evolution of these regimes as American hegemony has eroded. Refuting the idea that the decline of hegemony makes cooperation impossible, he views international regimes not as weak substitutes for world government but as devices for facilitating decentralized cooperation among egoistic actors. In the preface the author addresses the issue of cooperation after the end of the Soviet empire and with the renewed dominance of the United States, in security matters, as well as recent scholarship on cooperation.
4,257 citations
Book•
01 Jan 1984
TL;DR: Keohane as discussed by the authors analyzes the institutions, or "international regimes", through which cooperation has taken place in the world political economy and describes the evolution of these regimes as American hegemony has eroded.
Abstract: This book is a comprehensive study of cooperation among the advanced capitalist countries. Can cooperation persist without the dominance of a single power, such as the United States after World War II? To answer this pressing question, Robert Keohane analyzes the institutions, or "international regimes," through which cooperation has taken place in the world political economy and describes the evolution of these regimes as American hegemony has eroded. Refuting the idea that the decline of hegemony makes cooperation impossible, he views international regimes not as weak substitutes for world government but as devices for facilitating decentralized cooperation among egoistic actors. In the preface the author addresses the issue of cooperation after the end of the Soviet empire and with the renewed dominance of the United States, in security matters, as well as recent scholarship on cooperation.
3,792 citations
Book•
01 Jan 1977TL;DR: The Politics of Oceans and money: Historical Overview as mentioned in this paper is an overview of international rule-making in oceans and money, with a focus on the United States and its relationship with Canada and Australia.
Abstract: I. UNDERSTANDING INTERDEPENDENCE. Interdependence in World Politics. Realism and Complex Interdependence. Explaining International Regime Change. II. REGIME CHANGE IN OCEANS AND MONEY. The Politics of Oceans and Money: Historical Overview. Complex Interdependence in Oceans and Money. The Politics Of Rule-Making in Oceans and Money. III. REGIMES AND TWO BILATERAL RELATIONSHIPS. United States Relations With Canada And Australia. IV. THE UNITED STATES AND COMPLEX INTERDEPENDENCE. Coping With Interdependence. V. SECOND THOUGHTS ON THEORY AND POLICY. Afterword. "Two Cheers for Multilateralism."
2,262 citations