LESSON 5 taking advantage of their strategic location.

Singapore and
Switzerland compensate for their lack resources by turning
A World of Regions
themselves into financial and banking hubs. Singapore
Governments, associations, Societies and groups form developed its harbor facilities and made them a first lass
regional organizations and/or networks as a way of coping transit port for ships carrying different commodities from
with the challenges of globalization. Globalization has made Africa, Europe, the Middle East, and mainland Southeast Asia
people aware of the world in general but it as also made to countries in the Asia-Pacific, In most cases, however,
Filipinos more cognizant of specific areas such as Southeast countries form a regional alliance for as the saying goes there
Asia. How for instance, did the Philippines come to identity is strength in numbers.
itself with the Southeast Asian region? Why is it part of a
Countries form regional associations for several reasons. One
regional grouping known as the Association of Southeast
is for military defense. The most widely known defense
Asian Nations (ASEAN)
grouping is the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) for
While regionalism is often seen as a political and economic med during the Cold War when several Western European
phenomenon, the term actually encompasses a broader countries plus the United States agreed to protect Europe
area. It can be examined in relation to identities, ethics, against the threat of the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union
religion, ecological sustainability, and health." Regionalism is responded by creating its regional alliance, the Warsaw Pact,
also a process, and must be treated as an "emergent, socially consisting of the Eastern European countries under Soviet
constituted phenomenon It means that regions are not domination. The Soviet Union imploded in December 1991,
natural or given rather, they are constructed and defined by but NATO remains in place.
policymakers, economic actors, and even social movements.
Countries also form regional organizations to pool their
This lesson will look at regions as political entities and Resources, get better returns for their exports, as well as
examine what brings them together as they interlock with expand their leverage against trading partners The
globalization. The other facets of regionalism will then be Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)
explored especially those that pertain to identities, ethics, was established in 1960 by Iran, iraq Kuwait, Sandi Arabia,
religion, ecological sustainability, and health. The lesson will and Venezuela to regulate the production and sale of oil. This
conclude by asking where all these regionalisms are bringing regional alliance flexed its muscles in the 1970s when its
us as members of a nation and as citizens of the world. member countries took over domestic production and
dictated crude oil prices in the world market. In a world
highly dependent on oil, this integration became a source of
Countries, Regions, and Globalization immense power. OPEC's success convinced nine other oi
producing countries to join it.
Edward D. Mansfield and Helen V. Milner state that
economic and political definitions of regions vary, but there Moreover, there are countries that form regional blocs to
are certain basic features that everyone can agree on. First, protect their independence from the pressures of
regions are "a group of countries located in the same superpower politics. The presidents of Egypt Ghana, India,
geographically specified area” or are “an amalgamation of Indonesia, and Yugoslavia created the Non-Aligned
two regions [or] a combination of more than two regions” Movement (NAM) in 1961 to pursue world peace and
organized to regulate and "oversee flows and policy choices." international cooperation, human rights, national
Second, the words regionalization and regionalism should sovereignty, racial and national equality, non-intervention,
not be interchanged, as the former refers to the “regional and peaceful conflict resolution It called itself non-aligned
concertation of economic flows" while the latter is "a because the association refused to side with either the First
political process characterized by economic policy World capitalist democracies in Western Europe and North
cooperation and Coordination among countries.” America or the communist states in Eastern Europe. At its
peak, the NAM had 120 member countries. The movement,
Countries respond economically and politically to however, was never formalized and continues to exist up to
globalization in various ways. Some are large enough and the present although it lacks the same fervor that it had in
have a lot of resources to dictate how they participate in the past.
processes of global integration. China, for example, offers its
cheap and huge workforce to attract foreign businesses and Finally, economic crisis compels countries to come together.
expand trade with Countries it once considered its enemies The Thai economy collapsed in 1996 after foreign currency
but now sees as markets far its goods (e.g the United States speculators and troubled international banks demanded that
and Japan) other countries make up for their small size by the thai government pay back its loans. A rapid withdrawal of
foreign investments bankrupted the economy This crisis and Networks and NGOs in Latin America and the Caribbean)
began to spread to other Asian countries as their currencies participate in “forums, Summits and dialogues with
were also devalued and foreign investments left in a hurry presidents and ministers” likewise, a group called the Citizen
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) tried to reverse the Diplomacy Forum tries to influence the policies and
crisis, but it was only after the ASEAN countries along with programs of the Organization of American States. In
China, Japan, and South Korea agreed to establish an Southeast Asia the organization of an ASEAN
emergency fund to anticipate a crisis that the Asian Parliamentarians for Human Rights was in part the result of
economies stabilized. non-government organizations and civil society groups
Pushing to prevent discrimination, uphold political freedom,
The crisis made ASEAN more “unified and coordinated.” The
and promote democracy and human rights throughout the
Association has come a long way since it was formed as a
region.
Coalition of countries which were pro- American and
supportive of the United States intervention in Vietnam. Other regional organizations dedicate themselves to
After the Vietnam War, ASEAN continued to act as a military specialized causes. Activists across Central and South
alliance to isolate Vietnam after it invaded Cambodia, but America established the Rainforest Foundation to protect
there were also the beginning economic cooperation. indigenous peoples and the rainforests in Brazil, Guyana,
Panama, and Peru. young Christians across Asia, Africa, the
Middle East the Americas, and the Caribbean formed
Non-State Regionalism Regional Interfaith Youth Networks to promote “conflict
prevention, resolution, peace education, and sustainable
it is not only states that agree to work together in the name development.” The Migrant Forum in Asia is another regional
of a single cause (or causes) Communities also engage in network of NGOs and trade unions “committed to
regional Organizing. This “new regionalism” varies in form; protect[ing] and promot[ing] the rights and welfare of
they can be “tiny associations that include no more than a migrant workers.”
few actors an focus on a single issue, or huge continental
unions that address a multitude of common problems from These organizations primary power lies in their moral
territorial defense to food Security” Organizations standing and their ability to combine lobbying with pressure
representing this “new regionalism” likewise rely on the politics. Unfortunately, most of them are poorly financed,
power of individuals, non-governmental organizations which places them at a disadvantage when dealing with their
(NGOs), and associations to link up with one another in official counterparts who have large state funds. Their impact
pursuit of a particular goal (or goals). Finally, “new in global politics is, therefore, limited.
regionalism" is identified with reformists who share the same
New regionalism differs significantly from traditional state to-
“values, norms, institutions, and system that exist outside of
state regionalism when it comes to identifying problems. For
the traditional, established mainstream institutions and
example, states treat poverty or environmental degradation
systems”
as technical or economic issues hat can be resolved by
Their strategies and tactics likewise vary. Some organizations refining existing programs of state agencies making minor
partner with governments to initiate social change. Those changes in economic policies, and creating new offices that
who work with governments (“legitimizers") participate in address these issues. However, new regionalism advocates
“institutional mechanisms that afford some civil society such as the NGO Global Forum see these issues as reflections
groups voice and influence [in] technocratic policy-making of flawed economic development and environmental
processes." For example, the ASEAN issued its Human Rights models. By "flawed” they mean economic development
Declaration in 2009, but the regional body left it to member plans that are market-based, profit-driven and hardy
countries to apply the declaration's principles as they see fit, concerned with social welfare, especially among the poor.
Aware that democratic rights are limited in many ASEAN
Another challenge for new regionalists is the discord that
countries, "new regionalism” organizations used this official
may emerge among them. For example, disagreements
declaration to pressure these governments to pass laws and
surface Over issues like gender and religion, with pro-choice
regulations that protect and promote human rights.
NGOs breaking from religious civil s0ciety groups that side
In South America left wing governments support the with the Church, Muslim imams, or governments opposed to
Hemispheric Social Alliance’s position to the North American reproductive tights and other pro-women policies.
Trade Agreement (NAFTA), while members of the Mesa de Moreover, while civil society groups are able to dialogue with
Articulación de Asociaciones Nacionales y Redes de ONGs de governments. the latter may not be welcoming to this new
América Latina y El Caribe (Roundtable of Nat Associations trend and set up one obstacle after another. Migrant Forum
Asia and its ally, the Coordination of Action Research on AIDS an obstacle to the implementation and deepening of
(CARAM), lobbied ASEAN governments to defend migrant economic globalization because constant public inquiry
labor rights. Their program of action, however, slowed down about economic projects and lengthy debate slow down
once countries like Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand implementation or lead to unclear outcomes. Democracy' s
refused to recognize the rights of undocumented migrant tedious procedures must, therefore, give way to efficiency.
workers and the rights if the families of migrants.

KULANG PA DIRIII ------------

Contemporary Challenges to Regionalism

Today, regionalism faces multiple challenges, the most

serious of which is the resurgence of militant nationalism and
populism. he refusal to dismantle NATO after the collapse of UNIT 2
the Soviet Union, for example, has become the basis of the
anti-NATO rhetoric of Vladimir Putin in Russia. Now, even the A World of Ideas Cultures of Globalization
relationship of the United States -the alliance's core This second unit focuses on how the globalization ‘structures
member-with NATO has become problematic after Donald discussed in Unit 1 affect various forms of cultural life:
Trump demonized the organization as simply leeching off "Culture* IS used here in the broadest possible sense,
American military power without giving anything in return. referring to the daily practices of people. Thus, f the first unit
Perhaps the most crisis-ridden regional organization of today focused on a "large” form globalization, this unit will zero in
the European Union The continuing financial crisis of the on everyday globalizations in the realms of religion, culture,
region is forcing countries like Greece to consider leaving and city life.
Union to gain mere flexibility in their economic policy The major learning outcome of this unit to explain the role of
immigrant sentiment and a populist campaign against Europe global processes in every daylite.
have already led to united kingdom voting to leave the
Europian Union in a move the media has termed the the
“Brexit”.

ASEAN members continue to disagree over the extent to

member countries should sacrifice their sovereignty for the
sake of regional stability. The Associations link with Asia has
also been problematic. Recently, ASEAN countries also greed
over how to relate to China, with the Philippines unable to
get the other countries to support its condemnation of
China's occupation of the West Philippine Sea. Cambodia and
Laos led the opposition favoring diplomacy over
confrontation, but the real reason was the dramatic increase
of Chinese investments and economic aid to these countries.
Moreover, when some formerly authoritarian countries
democratized, this participatory regionalism clashed with
ASEAN's policy of non-interference, as civil society groups in
Indonesia, the Philippines, and Thailand demanded that the
other countries democratized adopt a more open attitude
towards foreign criticism.

A final challenge pertains to differing visions of what

regionalism should be for. Western governments may see
regional organizations not simply as economic formations
but also as instruments of political democratization. Non-
Western and developing societies, however, may have a
different view regarding global1zation, development, and
democracy. Singapore, China, and Russia see democracy as