The sense of competition fosters widely felt anxiety. Regional economic blocs are not new. 0000002120 00000 n From the perspective of radical and comprehensive democracy building from below and strengthening the disempowered is essential in all responses to the crisis. Part 1. Without these impressive ideas European integration could not have been brought to its present level. The challenges of regional integration in Sub-Saharan Africa: the role of Economic Partnership Agreements. (4) Regional integration is possible but needs to be democratic: Nevertheless I want to welcome the quality and direction of development in many South and Latin American countries in the last few years and the efforts and the decisive contribution of ordinary people from the struggling classes to them. for intra-regional trade. 0000004040 00000 n 2. * Regional cooperation may have democratizing effects on the relations between big and small countries. I do not want to under underestimate the cultural diversity of the Americas. Regional integration has a final non-economic disadvantage. He carries sole responsibility for the views expressed and all shortcomings of his remarks. Wallgren is the head of the Department of Philosophy at the University of Helsinki, Finland. Banks are bailed out and the costs of enterprise failures are carried by tax-payers. These can include for instance protection and support of micro and small enterprise as well as of local knowledge systems and forms or democracy, the launch of local and regional currencies with high social and ecological value, and so forth. It is for this reason that the organizers of this conference decided to hold it in Asuncion, bringing in activists and government officials from Asia and Africa to interact with people in this region to discuss the lessons that developments here have for the rest of the world. It can also strengthen the bargaining power of the South, especially the smaller countries of the South, in global politics. The Bretton Woods institutions and the WTO-framwork have been insufficient or even dysfunctional for development, ecological responsibility and economic stability, especially for the global South. Regional cooperation in the global South and between increasingly self-reliant but co-operating Southern regional blocs can be essential for gaining economic, political and cultural autonomy from Europe and the US, serving global solidarity and environmental responsibility. 1. For many of us from outside Latin America, the dynamics of ALBA hold particular interest. It is true in a limited sense. This, it may be argued, is the new logic of Western, imperial military hegemony. ” Is this statement true or false? 2. Journal of Social Sciences: Vol. The state is back in the economy. Protecting the rule of law in post-Soviet states: the relevance of European and Eurasian integration More focused and gradual steps that are carefully executed at the domestic level may be the best place to start. When it goes away we can see again clearly that the modern state in most countries remains committed to a development model in which a mix of capitalist, growth dependent exploitative economy and consumerist, individualistic, civilisational values remains central. Other developments and challenges: looking beyond the Customs Union. new IT, nano-technology and genetic engineering make 21st century questions of war and peace more intractable than before. This article looks at the global and regional integration of the Indian Ocean economy, with a view to identifying challenges to greater integration. The Challenges of Regional Integration for Development. * Economic policies of regions should learn from the failures of the neo-liberal experiments in the EU and elsewhere: + A Latin American Central Bank issuing a common currencie that may in the long run function as a (regional?) In decolonising development, art iculating new visions of good life (buen vivir) and building radical democracy the movements South America are today a great source of energy and hope for people on all continents. 5. One response to this crisis has been to dump export-oriented industrialization and reemphasize the primacy of the national market in sustaining economic growth. 3. Regional Cooperation and Integration Capacity 13 VIII. Magang believes one of the challenges restricting integration is the economic imbalance within Africa’s trade blocs. *�c�z��L=�]�3BYjnXJc���L,�^I}>���“���yZ�����$3Csa�*�`�?v�K&~i�3� %��s�y��;���twN\T�ߌ�s��bK'�Ʌ�v�2��N��D���~�*KrMm�6�8|��#�b�F���Ƶ��x��c�C aJʼ����Sbu8��o��ȡzh�����G��� u��0������x���AV��ز� ��l�?�,f0��6P��&�2��,�_��m�Z�Z�H��1��T0��2��d�q}O��Z�Z�V��Ճ�,�-�^ϔݳq��%`�`$@�Uk��h�f���d �A�u���T���\V����!�����n@JW�,^���x�տ~��.�~jH��a� I only want to add that not only are the different areas of crisis interconnected and systemic. Simultaneously deregulation, privatisation and trade liberalisation are all on a hold or they are rolled back. In global efforts large corporations and states still have a relative advantage over other actors. The first is how to build regional blocs that go beyond trade to include industrial policy, a shared agricultural policy, macroeconomic coordination, and technology sharing. “The Challenge of Regional Integration” ... to think about regional integration • A choice for regional integration is a choice for liberalism • Liberalism limited to the region • Integration can be deep or shallow, more or less liberal 3. A decade ago, there was much discussion about when Asia might achieve full economic integration, including … Challenges of Regional Integration By Thomas Wallgren * Presentation given at International Conference of governments and social movements “Regional Integration: an opportunity to face the crises” (21 and 22 July 2009, stuff Asunción del Paraguay) reserve currency must work under democratic political guidance and pursue socially and ecologically responsible monetary policies; The third is how to promote a development process that does not reproduce social inequalities at the regional and national levels in the name of capital accumulation. <<5E04D95EF02C1F4A979590C56857CBCC>]>> Regional integration is seen as a rational response to the difficulties faced by a continent with many small national markets and landlocked countries. Most times, conflicts that are found in culturally diverse communities are largely unavoidable. Deepening economic interdependence between nations and regions, the increasing importance of a globalised capital market and the increasing size and power of transnational corporations have overburdened the steering and regulating capacity of nation states. Sumario Hence, as long as power structure are not altered, we should not expect too much good to come out from institutions working on global regulation of e.g. ;n�I�\N��#K�?NzaLR��_�*)��,���7 ��1t�=�L1yx��u���)�� ��� COMESA and SADC face several challenges in pursuing open regionalism (in the form of a commitment to nondiscriminatory tariff liberalization). 0000002164 00000 n Finally, the last I would mention is how to undertake a process of regional integration that transcends the logic of capitalism, to borrow the words of Hugo Chavez. %PDF-1.4 %���� level integration. ASEAN’s idea of integration is to see it as a step towards full-scale globalization, a process that is termed “open regionalism.”. 0000008429 00000 n 0000002594 00000 n The fourth is how to promote a development process that is sustainable, that is, one that is built on ecologically benign technologies and is not based on ever-rising material consumption per capita, though of course the spreading of material wealth via income redistribution is necessary to bring people out of poverty. European and Eurasian integration initiatives: constitutional challenges. Regional protection and strategic cooperation should be built with a clear commitment to global solidarity. The challenges confronting us today cannot be met by either neoliberalism or the old developmentalist model. – All references are given for purposes of identification and transparency only. Democratising the politics and economy of globalisation is important but difficult. In fact, what we witness on all continents is a colossal lack of political and cultural creativity in the state and corporate sector. The author claims no ownership of his ideas nor originality for his views. Both ideas are now in a crisis. The industrial growth centred development model that first emerged in Europe and North America in the 18th to 20th century needs to be seriously reconsidered. The challenges of regional integration in Southern Africa Mark Chingono* and Steve Nakana University of Zimbabwe, P. O. issues they are facing, Causes or the obstacles that slowdown the regional integration will be determined together with the countermeasures that have been implemented in order to respond to the challenges, ease or eliminate those difficulties and obstacles and accelerate the outcomes. Integration has proceeded on the initiative and under the leadership of bureaucratic elites. They need to include very tight transparency regulation and, as I believe, innovative, radical anti-trust regulation. H��S�N�A~�}����p��=_bEKcl*[���@� �M�����դ�&�2��wF The paper then identifies the challenges to regional integration in West Africa by looking at some institutions of ECOWAS. 0000006829 00000 n (3) Regional cooperation for global governance needs to be built democratically from below. The European Union has a series of languages that it deems to be the official languages of the EU government. Focus of Trade Policy Development Capacity Building 10 VII. Nevertheless, as we have seen during the past months the demise of neo-liberalism does not mean the end of capitalism nor does it automatically change the balance of power or fundamental policies. It remains open, however, what the implications are for the politics of global governance and the role of regional and national politics. 2. For instance, the plan to build oil and gas pipelines from Venezuela to the furthermost areas of South America is probably dangerous and damaging not only to the environment but also to the indigenous peoples. For regional integration in Africa to be a success, Africa’s leaders will have to move beyond grand gestures and abstract visions. This much should now be uncontroversial. However, his work dealt neither on how cultural identity will be achieved nor its challenges as regional goals. This year 100 years have passed since Gandhi wrote his definitive statement, the pivotal pamphlet Hind Swaraj or Indian Home Rule on board a ship between Britain and South  Africa. As a result, African governments have concluded a very large number of regional integration arrangements, several of which have In: Elhiraika A.B., Mukungu A.C.K., Nyoike W. (eds) Regional Integration and Policy Challenges in Africa. 0000050482 00000 n We can still draw insight and inspiration from the Gandhian notion of and experiments with truth-force (“satyagraha”). 3. In the global arenas, at WTO, the World Bank or even in the climate negotiations positive news are yet to come. Globally the political debates seem to be moving from a discussion of separate crises to a discussion of inter-connected crises: of the finance sector, the world economy, political governance, food, water, development and climate. On 11th July 2000, the African Union was adopted during the Lomé Summit of the OAU. In practice, referenda about that powers to hold at the national level and what powers to confer to regional authorities are essential. Challenges of regional integration Posted by admin | Jul 26, 2009 | Alternative Regionalisms , Deglobalisation , Philippines , Trade and Investment By Akbayan Representative Walden Bello* (Speech at the Conference on “Regional Integration: an Opportunity Presented by the Crisis,” Universidad de Deportes, Asuncion, Paraguay, July 21-22, 2009.) He is the author of 15 books, the latest of which is The Food Wars (New York: Verso, 2009). The dark side of this idea was that EU integration has worked top-down. * Regional, elected parliaments can play an important role in a new regionalism. In actual fact different European countries have different between them quite different kinds of membership in the EU both politically and juridically. 3. The rules embodied in the World Trade Organization (WTO) and enforcement mechanism that comes with it helped keep protectionism low during the crisis. The legitimacy and need for non-state political cooperation is obvious and  in regional cooperation as well tax-payers money and other public resources should not be exclusively spent on state and market driven integration. 4. Technological changes have made possible deep changes in the economy. The future belongs, as Indian social philosoper Lohia said fifty years ago, increasingly to “the bastards.” We see every day along the Southern borders of the US and the EU that efforts to keep borders closed and nations clean lead to disaster. Less attention has, for understandable reasons, been paid to the contribution of Europe to global security. Two: It is imperative that the juridical hierarchy, including the effective control of constitutional rights and freedoms of people and nature, is never subordinated to economic policies or juridical agreements regulating the economy. ;�Rξezw$]�[xi��!�V���4�L��Z��}�7=����3/��q�����٣S�0�3�>r����O{'��� Ŷ��j�^r�G��W��ŵ��hc3&�{�`�j,�.�8#P���L���!���ڈ�]�F�gr��Z�`��pbQ��"ˏ��l�p���bt��~�����x�'��a����F���}����`�3����*�փ>�#-;yG�m The lesson to be learnt is that regional cooperation must, much more than has been the case in Europe, be built democratically, with explicit consent and support by the citizens. Accepted 12 September, 2008 Regional integration is increasingly being accepted as essential in facilitating economic and political development. Regional integration refers to the process of states coming together to sign agreements where they agree to cooperate in certain areas common to them. * Lastly, as compared with Europe, Latin America (as well as e.g. in Africa: Problems and Prospects. My fourth suggestion is that all political reforms and initiatives now of the short and medium term should be shaped so as not to hamper but rather support a civilisational shift in which the ultimate goals and ideals of development are reconsidered. March 3-4, 2016. These can emerge on the basis of the variety of sustainable life-styles, democracies and civilisational values existing today especially in the global South. Thomas Wallgren “The reason was for regions to trade within themselves first,” said the real estate businessman, pointing out that little integration has been achieved so far. endstream endobj 244 0 obj <>stream One: the fundamental principle of democracy, that all state power and all power of regional authorities belongs to the people, must always be recognized formally. (2007). In this tradition markets and trade have often been given politically very expansive interpretations: in the EU (as in the WTO) the free movement of trade in goods has not been enough. 0000047083 00000 n Special care must be taken at every step to keep economic policies within democratic control and to avoid spill-over from economic policies on social protection, environmental protection and other vital policy areas: Since the 1980s the main left and centre argument in favour of deepening European integration has no longer been the argument from peace. 7. The people have been seen as prone to aggressive sentiment. Economic integration should be subservient to social justice and radical democracy. I suggest that a maximum size of corporations is considered as well as sealings on individual ownership and control of corporate activity. 4. regional integration is ‘signifi cantly challenged’ as an approach to the sustainable development of economies. The second is how to ensure that building complementarity among economies does not reproduce the old, unequal division of labor between stronger and weaker economies. Africa’s challenges call for pragmatism and a sense of urgency in action. regional integration” had attempted to work out the importance of cultural homogeneity with respect to regional integration. 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