Accepted 12 September, 2008 Regional integration is increasingly being accepted as essential in facilitating economic and political development. 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. Many of us in these countries still work to preserve and take further the Nordic tradition. The rules embodied in the World Trade Organization (WTO) and enforcement mechanism that comes with it helped keep protectionism low during the crisis. �O���.���!�a��`ݴ0� ��Y��ř4�g0A��!�&��pj���O�s�=���͗��s~��s~�wn� ������s Developed and developing countries have embraced regional integration because of its perceived benefits in increasing trade and enhancing sustainable growth (Mansfield and Milner 1997; Milner and Kubota 2005).However, the proliferation of regional integration, especially in the developing world, has … But it seems to me as an outside observer that the experience of more than 500 years of colonialism and imperialism serves as a source of solidarity between the peoples in Latin America. This is not only a concern at the international level where bilateral and multilateral free trade agreements are known to undermine human rights. Another is the subsidization of the oil needs of 14 Caribbean countries by Venezuela, which sells fuel to them at 40 per cent off the world price. Banks are bailed out and the costs of enterprise failures are carried by tax-payers. Regional Integration and Challenges of Africa’s Development 7 V. Regional Economic Communities - The Capacity Challenges 8 VI. European and Eurasian integration initiatives: constitutional challenges. The challenges of regional integration in Southern Africa Mark Chingono* and Steve Nakana University of Zimbabwe, P. O. Yet we cannot romanticize these efforts. The people have been seen as prone to aggressive sentiment. startxref In India the elections were won by a centre right still pursuing growth through exports, international competitiveness, intensified exploitation of domestic natural resources and deepened integration into global markets. Corpus ID: 130801062. 3, pp. Regional cooperation in the South can provide protection from dysfunctional and failing global institutions. 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. 264 0 obj <>stream Part 1. But the nature of global integration is changing, entailing new challenges for policymaking. 11. r50/82648/2015 a research project submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for award of masters of arts degree in international studies october 2016 Coalition for comprehensive democracy, Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam in Finland. 0000008047 00000 n Finally the paper identifies the prospects for integration in West Africa. (4) Regional integration is possible but needs to be democratic: Political, cultural and moral initiative that will inspire hope on all continents can and needs to come from many places. Acta de Foz de Yguazu. In the golden age of the Nordic model, the small North European area that I come from, had disproportionate global significance in pro-people politics. +  The political weight and influence of large corporations tends to be relatively greater on regional than on national and local levels of political decision-making. * The European experience shows that regional cooperation can be effective in enhancing the power and  economic and social status of oppressed minorities and underprivileged regions. Let me mention some of these challenges to contemporary regionalism in Latin America and other parts of the South. And the OAU had some successes and challenges, but the exigencies necessitated a shift in the paradigms undergirding the integration effort. GLOBAL AND HISTORICAL PREMISES OF REGIONAL COOPERATION, Regional integration in the context of collapsing neo-liberalism, authoritarian capitalism and the search for cultural alternatives. 8. The creation of a common internal market and of common external economic policies, especially as regards trade, has been a priority in European integration. It will take time to overcome it. 14. The dark side of this idea was that EU integration has worked top-down. 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. It can also strengthen the bargaining power of the South, especially the smaller countries of the South, in global politics. 1. Most times, conflicts that are found in culturally diverse communities are largely unavoidable. In societies atomised socially and empoverished culturally by late capitalism and consumerism nation state are often seen as competitors. “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. When the peoples are in effective control of the balance of powers different countries will participate in different ways in regional cooperation, taking exceptions as they see fit and forming sub-units of tighter cooperation as they see fit. CHALLENGES WITH INTEGRATING 15 SOVEREIGN STATES • The High Cost/Difficulty in doing business • Geography/ Inefficiencies in Transportation • Different legal traditions and systems • Restricted freedom of movement • No Currency convertibility • Lack of Political will • … 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. From the perspective of radical and comprehensive democracy building from below and strengthening the disempowered is essential in all responses to the crisis. 10. 0000002164 00000 n 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. As a result, African governments have concluded a very large number of regional integration arrangements, several of which have Focus more on South-South Trade Nevertheless, for historical, cultural and social reasons the global North cannot be trusted too much in the search for new civilisational visions and new socially and ecologically enriching models for progress and development. The evolution of constitutionalism in the post-communist countries of Central and Eastern Europe: some lessons for the post-Soviet space. Risks and Challenges, (ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly's Committee on Political Affairs on the issue of 'Lessons to be learnt from the European model of regional integration for the ACP countries', ACP House, Brussels, 13 September 2007). Also internally in Europe social rights achievements have some times been undermined by the economic logic of integration. ��6�}������ Ϋ�m����p2�,��]�j3���z�/4-`@1:gQ���z�$�bݣb!7.v˟�X�S�m���eĠ[��Q��$q�y��"�&K��ѥ��du�-������i�^m�n�����L������k#�jk���ʓ/Q%-�5����..�g���s]�ó�A�ꢔڿT��Ɉ/�.�َ�t-�Yf�ŢZM���]&)s�,� �5 For purposes of identification and transparency only focus of trade Policy development Capacity building 10 VII mere fact that Ametican... Cultural and moral initiative that will inspire hope on all continents can and needs to be experiments! Be only complementary to this crisis has been to build regional associations or regional blocs Europe: lessons. The physical and cultural mobility of peoples in the EU both politically juridically... 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