Regionalism in World Politics

The first authoritative analysis of an increasingly important topic

The past five years have witnessed a resurgence of regionalism in world politics and an increasingly important role for regional institutions. This book provides a timely and authoritative analysis of recent trends towards the new regionalism and regionalization, assessing their origins, present and future prospects and place in the evolving international order.The past five years have witnessed 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. This book brings together the many different institutions and ideas to be found under the label of 'regionalism'; it places the revival of regionalism in a broader historical perspective; it asks whether there are common factors behind the revival of regionalism in so many different parts of the world; and it analyses the cumulative impact of different brands of regionalism on international order. Leading specialists examine recent developments in regional co-operation in different parts of the world. They take a critical look at recent trends towards the new regionalism and regionalization, assessing their origins, their present and future prospects, and their place in the evolving international order. As well as concentrating on specific regions, including Pacific-Asia, the Americas, Europe and the Middle-East, the book looks at theories of regionalism, the balance between regionalization and globalization in the world economy,the relationship between regional organizations and the United Nations, and the relationship between the revival of regionalism and questions of identity and nationalism.