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Regionalism and the EU
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Detailed, thorough notes on Regionalism and the EU based on the suggested Edexcel A-Level textbook
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Regionalism and the EUKey definitions:
regionalism:creation and implementation of institutions that express a particular identity
and shape collection action within a geographical region
European Union (EU):political-economic union of 28 member states located in Europe
sovereignty:absolute and unlimited power and authority
European integration:the process of industrial, political, legal, economic, social and cultural
integration of states in Europe
supranationalism:a large amount of power given to an authority, which, in theory, is place
higher than the state
intergovernmentalism:interaction among states based on sovereign independence
homogenisation:coming together of global cultures and development of a single,
homogenous culture without diversity or dissent
federalism:legal and political structures where power is distributed between two distinct
levels of government on the basis that neither is subordinate to the other
widening and deepening:process by which the EU has attempted to expand membership
while furthering integration
Regionalism
Interconnectedness and interdependence relate to economic and trade matters, health,
science, communication technology, crime and security
Increasing move for states to form and join multilateral regional organisations
Examples: European Union (EU), African Union (AU), Arab League, the North American Free
Trade Agreement (NAFTA), Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN)
Regionalism faces challenges in the future; states do not like giving up sovereignty, and
nations have a strong desire to govern themselves = with nationalism, there is a backlash
against regional co-operation
2016 = British people voted to leave the EU, nationalistic parties gained support across
Europe, Donald Trump was elected as president of the USA
Different forms of regionalism
Economic = focuses on the financial and trade aspects of regional co-operation = trade blocs
Security = trying to achieve peace and security = either by enhancing interdependence and
interconnected, making war impossible, or through binding the member states against a
common enemy (e.g. ASEAN; shared fear of growth of communism in SE Asia)
Political = share the same values so seek to protect them, and enhance their standings and
voice in the world (e.g. AU and Arab League)
Considerable overlap and tend to feed each other = security is achieved through economic
co-operations, protection of values is achieved through security and economic
EU = after horrors of WWII and the Holocaust = Euro-federalists (e.g. Jean Monnet and
Robert Schuman) believed that European institutions and integration, and trade, would
make war in Europe a thing of the past = economics was a central role = European
, integration with the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) in 1951 = aim to make it
impossible for the signatory states to go to war as their ability to produce coal and steel was
no longer in the hands of other states = common market was created and supranational
decision making
Debates about and the reasons and significance of regionalism
The relationship between regionalism and globalisation
Globalisation has been heightened by regionalism = states in a region co-operate on an
economic, security or political level (e.g. EU, NAFTA and ASEAN have increased trade
between member states, and therefore globalisation = positive: more trade brings greater
competitions and economies of scale = negative: some can’t compete in larger, tougher
markets, leading to a scaling back of industries and job losses)
Why states join = enable individual states to improve their leverage in the international
system against global companies, and to develop their comparative advantage = defend
against globalisation by pooling their sovereignty = regionalism: co-operation of states to aid
governance and solve mutual problems
Critics or globalisation criticise regionalism = enhancing and furthering globalisation =
negative impact on industries, on communities on jobs
Democracy is undermined by supranational or intergovernmental bodes than make binding
decisions beyond the reach of the people = decisions lack accountability, and sovereignty
and self-determination are undermined (e.g. EU receives criticism over the freedom of
movement it allows = EU citizens are free to live and work in other states, leading to
significant numbers of people emigrating around Europe = 750,000 Polish people in recent
years to the UK = voting public has no ability to limit these numbers) (e.g. NAFTA = USA
perceives it as outsourcing jobs to Mexico, resulting in industry closures and job losses in the
USA = immigrants can be blamed for taking what jobs there are or undercutting wages of
local people = those who have lost jobs or feel alienated may blame regional organisations)
Regional organisations and globalisation benefits ‘big corporations’ and TNCs = benefits to
TNCs over local or national producers = critics argue that as consumers all purchase the
same things and big corporations are pushing out small companies, there is cultural
homogenisation = states cannot protect their own industries or producers as economic
regional organisations tend to limit this = benefits mostly to the USA as it controls much of
the culture industry and many globally known products = but non- US producers also have
access to the US market (e.g. German and Japanese car industry have been very successful
and have cost many jobs in the US car industry)
Alternative view = regional organisations are actually a way of controlling and limiting the
impact of globalisation = globalisation is a powerful force than can affect the sovereignty of
countries, but co-operation and pooling sovereignty is an effective way to fight back
Environmental issues (e.g. climate change, pollution) do not respect borders = states have
come together to try and halt the effects of climate change through the International Panel
on Climate Change, co-operating to limit the impact of environmental change
States come together to limit the power of TNCs and their economic mobility = some TNCs
have more wealth than sovereign countries (e.g. Apple = $200 billion in cash reserves,
slightly less than the GDP of the Republic of Ireland + Samsung = $196 billion of revenue,
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