Economic and Political Regionalism

Question 1

examine the differences between economic and political regionalism

Answer 1

longevity

inward looking v outward looking

driving forces

impact on sovereignty

Question 2

longevity

Answer 2

one of the main differences between economic and political regionalism concerns longevity

political regionalism tends to last much longer than economic regionalism

this is because economic regionalism only lasts as long as states see it in their national interests

for example, Trump has threatened on numerous occasions to withdraw from NAFTA due to the perceived negative impacts on the US economy and probably would have gone ahead with doing so if it weren’t for him securing a renegotiation of the NAFTA deal

in contrast, political regionalism seems to last longer because it is founded on much stronger cultural ties

states within such regional bodies tend to be bound by similar cultures, whereas states in economic agreements are not always culturally similar (for instance, there is not much cultural similarity between Mexico, Canada and the USA in NAFTA)

these cultural divisions often lead to economic regional bodies breaking down as there soon comes a point when the states involved no longer share enough common ground and mutual interests, whereas states in political regional bodies tend to remain together due to sharing culture and therefore also sharing common interests that they are eager to work towards

Question 3

inward looking v outward looking

Answer 3

another difference is that political regionalism is very much inward looking whereas economic regionalism is outward looking

this means that political regionalism tends to focus on its own members, while economic regionalism has far more of a global reach and works across the globe with numerous other states and organisations who aren’t members

for example, the EU trades across the world, with other states outside of its 28 members (e.g. CETA), and ASEAN has a trading relationship with Japan, who is not a member

Question 4

driving forces

Answer 4

furthermore, the growth of economic regionalism is driven by economic globalisation but the growth of political regionalism is driven by the desire for greater political influence, which is another difference between these two types of regionalism

on one hand, economic regionalism is the method that states often used to manage the effects of globalisation, either as a protection against it or to turbocharge their integration into the global market

on the other hand, political regionalism tends to be driven by states seeking greater influence on the global stage

this can be seen in the establishment of the Arab League in 1945 and the Organisation of African Unity in 1963 (which transformed into the African Union in 2002)

the vision of the AU is for “an integrated, prosperous and peaceful Africa, driven by its own citizens and representing a dynamic force in the global arena”, thus illustrating the factors driving such political regionalism and how it differs to the interests of economic regionalism

Question 5

impact on sovereignty

Answer 5

finally, the impact that each type of regionalism has on sovereignty is another key difference

political regionalism tends to challenge sovereignty considerably more than economic regionalism

it tends to have supranational bodies, such as the EU’s Parliament and Commission, whereas states within economic regionalism can withdraw far more easily and can choose not to uphold agreements, meaning their sovereignty is less restricted

the way in which political regionalism restricts sovereignty far more than economic regionalism can be seen within the EU

since 1983, through its Common Fisheries Policy, the EU has regulated the amount of deep-sea fish that could be caught with a system of quotas and has allowed fishing boats from different member states to have equal access to each other’s fishing grounds

this was at the centre of the landmark ruling in the 1990 Factortame case, in which a Spanish fishing company called Factortame sued the UK government for restricting its access to UK waters

the law lords ruled that the 1988 Merchant Shipping Act, which the government was using to justify his actions, could not be allowed to stand because it violated EU law

this case established the primacy of EU law over an Act of Parliament, demonstrating that state sovereignty is often heavily undermined within political regionalism