Regionalism & EU Flashcards
Regionalism = a group of countries in a given region that shares common features A/D
ADVANTAGES
- encourages regional governments to collaborate, pool resources and approach challenges more effectively
- cooperation between regional states can boost economic prosperity, increase security or political stability
- provide individuals with freedom of regional movements or cheaper goods services
DISADVANATGES
- inter connectedness between states can blur lines between the cultural, political and economic identities and sovereignty of states [e.g politician’s voting for Brexit as the membership eroded state sovereignty]
- regional organisation can be dominated by the larger or richer countries [e.g France and Germany in the EU]
-nation states may disagree with regional bloc decisions which can result in gridlock and inaction
Supranationalism = sovereignty is weakened as institutions take decisions above the level of domestic government A/D
E.g The EU
ADVANTAGES
- countries can cooperate, becoming rich through trade with your neighbours
- supports liberal values and beliefs maintaining peace
DISADVANTAGES
- you are required to pay membership
- the regional organisations power will always supersede the state sovereignty, which may cause conflict between states
Federalism = a centralised federal body acting on behalf of the . Advocates for supranationalism
- link to UK Politics : Devolution
- e.g The USA has a federal state system, to which all the states have equal powers granted by their centralised body
Intergovernalism = states work together but sovereignty remains intact A/D
- link to realism
ADVANATAGES
- state sovereignty is not lost and state remains able to fully make decisions on its state
DISADVANTAGES
- because sovereignty between different states will differ, states may still compete with each other for power preventing state cooperation
Economic regionalism
= this is when countries in a regional bloc (a.k.a trade bloc) share similar economic aims , free trade agreements, cooperating with one another to make trade easier A/D
ADVANTAGES
- accelerated trade and economic development
- FDI [foreign direct interest]
- Increased competition encourages innovation
- economic integration can promote political cooperation and stability
DISADVANTAGES
- erosion of multilteralism
- larger and richer states may manipulate or control the smaller states
- loss of autonomy
- loss of jobs
- political tensions
What are the various forms of economic regionalism ?
- Free Trade Areas
- Custom Unions
- Common Market
- Economic union
What is the Trans-Pacific Partnership ? [economic regionalism example]
A regional trade agreement deal in 2016 between the states of the Pacific Rim [Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia etc], but excluding China and USA
President Barack Obama had championed the trade deal but his successor Trump withdrew the USA from the TPP in 2017
What is the North Atlantic Free trade Agreement (NAFTA) ? [economic regionalism example]
Free trade agreement between Canada, Mexico and the USA in 1992
Aims and achievements
- they aimed to eliminate all tariff and non-tariff barriers of trade between the states
- they achieved the creation of large free trade zones reducing or eliminating tariffs on imports and exports
Drawbacks
- does not extend past economic agreements
Political regionalism
= this is when a regional bloc has shared cultural values and similarities in terms of their identity A/D
ADVANTAGES
- helps manage states easily and gives a voice to smaller less politically prominent states
- encourages regional governments to collaborate, pool resources and approach challenges more effectively, relevant to large, global issues such as the ongoing climate crisis
DISADVANTAGES
- blurs the lines between cultural, political and economic identities
- can lead to conflict between nation states
What is the Arab League ? (Political and security example)
- founded in 1945 consists of 22 member (as of 2017 as Syria was suspended) states across the Middle East and North Africa
- conducts its business through Arab league summits
Aims / achievements
- its aims to accelerate economy, social progress and cultural development
- aims to encourage cooperation between Arab speaking states
DRAWBACK
- organisation is divided and therefore not that effective [e.g Syrian Civil War]
What is the African Union (AU) ? (Political example)
- 54 original members but currently has 55 members
- it replaced the Organisation of Afrcian Unity
Aims / achievements
- it aims to promote unity and solidarity between member states and coordinate development
- they have achieved and helped avert catastrophes and protected people from Burundi, Dafur and Somalia
Security regionalism
= this is when members within a regional bloc will work together to make an alliance to strengthen their regional borders
- link to the EU, NATO and ASEAN / link to realism security dilemma
ADVANTAGES
- security helps to enforce cooperation and communication between states
DISADVANTAGES
- this can lead to the erosion of sovereignty if states agree to take military actions when another state requires it
-
What is the Association of South-east Asia (ASEAN) ? (Economic and somewhat political example)
- originally had 5 countries [indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, phillipines and maylasia] increased to 10 in 1967
-clear aim to promote trade in the region (protect against Chinese domination) - political element via aim to protect member sovereignty
Aims / achievements
- it aims to encourage economic, social, cultural, technological and educational development, as well as peace an stability in the region
Example of how the EU supports globalisation
- eu has a set of standards for pharmaceutical production so drugs can easily be transported within the member block
- additionally it has established a ‘white list’ countries like Japan and Australia where less documentation is required for the importation of drugs
- this enables globalisation as these countries are easily able to import and export drugs with less restriction
Example of how ASEAN supports globalisation
- an organisation like ASEAN want to increase trade in their block which goes hand in hand with the globalisation goal of increasing trade between countries
How does regionalism promote globalisation ?
- it promotes regionalism, as NAFTA, EU & ASEAN to increase trade between their member states, directly aligns with economic globalisation
- in the USA, NAFTA has been perceived as the outsourcing jobs to Mexico [ this helps expand to Mexico helps promote economic regionalism ]
- on a regional level, states have one together to limit the power of TNCs and their economic mobility
How does regionalism hinder globalisation ?
- their will always be certain memeber states who cannot effectively compete in a tougher market, this can lead to the scaling back of industries and losses
- NAFTA has also caused significant job losses (job displacement) and industry closures in the USA
- regionalism lead to democracy to be undermined and these decisions lack legitimacy, therefore undermines sovereignty and self-determination
The impact on state sovereignty [different theories/ views that comment]
Liberals
- cooperation is always a good thing whether on a regional or global scale because some issues cannot be dealt with by nation states alone such as terrorism and the environment
Realists
- regional blocs will always fail as states will act in their own self interest. Strong states will abuse the system to benefit them most
Differences between the types of regionalism
Economic
- does not extend beyond economic terms, with the 3 nation states still retain quite different goals in other areas [NAFTA]
- does not need long term strategic aims
- tends to be more outward looking, reaching trade deals as a bloc with other states outside the region
- involves limited erosion of sovereignty, except in the case of a single regional currency like the euro, which involves considerable impact on sovereignty
Political regionalism
- needs longer term strategic aims
- to some extent relies on shared cultural values
- more inward looking and acts in the regions self interest
- emphasis on pooled sovereignty and deeper integration means more erosion of sovereignty
Security regionalism
- focuses on defence and security against shared threats
- territorial borders are important (e.g having a common threat)
- this could have an impact on sovereignty because of emphasis on common defence policy
What is the European Union ?
The EU is a collection of 27 members states (excluding the UK after BREXIT 2016)
- where states adhere to similar rules ( they vote for these rules)
- once your a citizen of the EU (your a European citizen)
- all countries pay memebership dues
What are the aims of the EU ?
1.Economic Integration and the single market
2.Economic and monetary union
3.Enlargement
4.Social policy
5.Political union
Economic integration and the single market (aim)
Prior 2002, the creation of the shared euro currency, the EU had created a common market with freedoms, focusing on removing tariff and non-tariff barriers to trade
The four freedoms of movement [key features of the European single market]
- Free movement of people [shengen agreement (1985)]
- Free movement of goods [ single market removed all custom checks and restrictions]
- Free movements of capital [large amounts of money can be moved freely without restraint]
- Free movement of services [companies within the EU are free to set up companies in other member states]
Difference between widening and deepening integration
Enlargement (aim of the EU)
- there has been 5 waves of enlargement
- Inner Six (1951) [belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands]
- First Enlargement (1970s) [ Denmark, Ireland, the UK ]
- Mediterranean Enlargement (1980s) [ Greece, Portugal and Spain]
- Northern Enlargement (1990s) [ Austria, Finland and Sweden]
- Post Communist / Eastern Enlargement (2000s) [ Czech Republic, Cyprus, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovenia, Slovakia (2004), Bulgaria and Romania (2007), Croatia (2013)
Drawbacks of the EU’s enlargement
- Russia claims that the EU acception of Eastern European states (ex - USSR members) is antagonistic, as the EU (designed to promote peace, stability and security) therefore they must consider the conflict with Russia
- Newer members often have weaker economies putting pressure on the larger states to support these smaller states
- Since the EU has grown to have more of a collective culutural identity, accepting countries within different outlooks (e.g Turkey = Islamic population) could be seen to be problematic
- issues with effectiveness, as the larger the EU the larger the base of interest it needs to coordinate
Social policy (aims of the EU)
European Social Fund (ESF)
In terms of social policy, the European Social Fund (ESF) gives money to projects aiming to, for example, reduce unemployment. Around 10% of the EU’s budget is spent on the ESF
Policital union (aim of the EU)
The EU has individual EU laws, known as ‘directives’. These harmonise social policy on matters as diverse as working hours and unemployment rights
- the European Commission proposes EU directives, and the EU’s council of Ministers and the European Parliament agree them
European Coal and Steel community (ECSC) [1951]
There was a need for integration and desire for peace and security post the Second World War
- this community comprised of the ‘inner six’
- the ECSC was designed to reduced trade barriers on coal and steel and to better coordinate policies over these resources
This is the original form of the EU based on economy recovery
The Treaty of Rome (1957)
This led to the establishment of the European Economic Community (EEC)
- this was important as it provided a legal basis to the modern EU
- this was the beginning of the common market
- key agreements such as the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP)
Enlargement of the ECC (1973)
During this year, 3 other nations joined the ECC : the UK, Ireland and Denmark
- links to the First Enlargement (1973)
The Single European Act (1986)
This Act established the Single Market, which was completed in 1992
- established a single market and a reduction of tariffs between these nations
- this was significant, as nations gave some of their constitutional powers to the European Union [because i saw the abolishment of national vetoes]
The Maastricht Treaty (1993)
It remained the ECC to the European Union (EU), here saw the increased communication on not only economic issues but social and political issues
- this treaty established the 4 freedoms of movements : people, goods, capital and services
- introduced the euro (which the UK and Denmark opted out of)
- the institution has 12 members [ after the Mediterranean enlargement]
Subsidiarity Principle (1993)
This principal came upon John Major’s insistence
- this was a general principal of the EU law whereby the European can only act where the action of individual countries is insufficient to the interests of the EU as a whole ( a measure to protect the sovereign interests of the EU as a whole
