The Quest for Regional Integration in the Twenty First Century

The Quest for Regional Integration in the Twenty First Century

Author: Joram Mukama Biswaro

Publisher: African Books Collective

Published: 2012

Total Pages: 462

ISBN-13: 9987081568

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In the last five decades, the world has witnessed dramatic changes. The Cold War has ended, and geopolitical relations among the major powers have been generally stable and tranquil. Moreover, the demise of colonialism has allowed newly independent countries to play a greater role in the international arena, and countries that used to be foes have now joined hands to develop their economies and raise the living standards of their peoples. At the same time, economic integration, both regional and global, has taken a strong hold. There is a growing realization that, for the survival of the modern world, with increasing cross-national links and externalities, global cooperation is a necessity. The opponents of integration argue that it is merely a guise for exploiting people in developing countries, which will cause massive disruptions of lives and with few benefits to the poor. Its proponents, however, point to the significantly reduced levels of poverty in countries that have adopted economic integration, such as China, India, Vietnam, Brazil, Chile, South Africa, Tanzania, and others. The EU experience is a successful example of integrating national economies, but how far should those promoting regional integration in Africa and other regions look to the EU as a model? Can regional and global integration proceed harmoniously? The journey towards fully-fledged regional integration in Africa and beyond could be long, rough and tough. Challenges and fears are enormous, but hopes, opportunities and prospects are immense. From this study it can be further concluded that Regional Integration and Cooperation in the 21st century is a reality and relevant.


The Quest for Identity

The Quest for Identity

Author: Amitav Acharya

Publisher:

Published: 2000

Total Pages: 208

ISBN-13:

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The book seeks to provide an understanding of Southest Asia as a region, the problems of statehood faced by the individual countries, and the search for regional order, peace and stability. It also explores Southeast Asia's adaptation to the changing world order, and long-term changes in terms of economic, political, and security implications.


The United States and Southeast Asian Regionalism

The United States and Southeast Asian Regionalism

Author: Sue Thompson

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2018-11-08

Total Pages: 240

ISBN-13: 1317312546

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The Nixon or Guam Doctrine of 1969 stressed the importance of progress towards regional cooperation and Asian collective security, indicating that Asian countries themselves should take the initiative in creating programs in which the United States could participate. This book analyses the development of United States regional cooperation policy on Southeast Asia and its importance to long-term planning for the region that had been the general aim of successive American post-war administrations. The author demonstrates the link between economic regional cooperation and collective security in Southeast Asia, placing regionalism in an international context by examining the influence United States policy and various important events had on the development of Southeast Asian regionalism. Through the analysis of primary material, including previously classified material, in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia and engagement with historiography of war and peace in Southeast Asia, the book puts forward the argument that Southeast Asian regional cooperation was influenced by both American and Asian policy and its development reflected the economic and political transformation of the post-war Southeast Asian landscape. It also examines the developments in British and Australian policy and how developments in Southeast Asia influenced and, in turn, were affected by the policies of the Western powers. Adding to the current discourse concerning the origins of Southeast Asian regionalism, this book will be of interest to academics in the field of Southeast Asian studies, United States political history, international relations and regionalism.


Thirty Years of SAARC

Thirty Years of SAARC

Author: Rajiv Kumar

Publisher: SAGE Publications Pvt. Limited

Published: 2016-07-20

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9789351508816

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This book traces economic and political issues through SAARC’s thirty-year journey. Topical and well-researched, this collection provides a comprehensive assessment of SAARC and provides policy directives for the future. The book points out the issues and constraints that have hindered regional cooperation in South Asia. It establishes that despite being democracies, there has been little effort by member nations to promote regional cooperation in the public domain. It stresses that in view of the increased role that countries wish to play in globalisation, economic cooperation is the way forward. The book further argues that political will is the pivot on which the prospect of regional cooperation revolves.


Energy Security Cooperation in Northeast Asia

Energy Security Cooperation in Northeast Asia

Author: Bo Kong

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2015-04-24

Total Pages: 241

ISBN-13: 1317664957

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Drawing on cutting-edge research from leading scholars, this book investigates state preferences for regime creation and assesses state capacity for executing these preferences in Northeast Asia’s energy domain, defined as the geographical area comprising the following countries: Russia, Mongolia, China, Japan, South Korea and North Korea. It examines questions pertaining to how states perceive the need and necessity for establishing a regime when it comes to the issue of energy and how much commitment they make to the effort in Northeast Asia. The book analyses the factors that shape each country’s fundamental energy interests in the region, how these interests impact their attitudes toward engaging the region on energy security and the way they carry out their regional engagement. Based on countries’ interests in promoting institutionalized regional energy cooperation and their capacity for forging that cooperation, the collection assesses each state’s role in contributing to an energy regime in Northeast Asia. It then concludes with a critique on the decade-plus quest for energy security cooperation in Northeast Asia and suggests ways forward for facilitating regional energy security cooperation. This book will be of great interest to scholars and students of environmental policy, energy policy, security studies, Asian studies and international relations.


The Making of Southeast Asia

The Making of Southeast Asia

Author: Amitav Acharya

Publisher: Cornell University Press

Published: 2013-02-15

Total Pages: 411

ISBN-13: 0801466342

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Developing a framework to study "what makes a region," Amitav Acharya investigates the origins and evolution of Southeast Asian regionalism and international relations. He views the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) "from the bottom up" as not only a U.S.-inspired ally in the Cold War struggle against communism but also an organization that reflects indigenous traditions. Although Acharya deploys the notion of "imagined community" to examine the changes, especially since the Cold War, in the significance of ASEAN dealings for a regional identity, he insists that "imagination" is itself not a neutral but rather a culturally variable concept. The regional imagination in Southeast Asia imagines a community of nations different from NAFTA or NATO, the OAU, or the European Union. In this new edition of a book first published as The Quest for Identity in 2000, Acharya updates developments in the region through the first decade of the new century: the aftermath of the financial crisis of 1997, security affairs after September 2001, the long-term impact of the 2004 tsunami, and the substantial changes wrought by the rise of China as a regional and global actor. Acharya argues in this important book for the crucial importance of regionalism in a different part of the world.


India's Foreign Policy and Regional Multilateralism

India's Foreign Policy and Regional Multilateralism

Author: Arndt Michael

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2013-02-07

Total Pages: 240

ISBN-13: 1137263121

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The book provides a novel analytical perspective on regional multilateralism in South Asia and its neighbouring regions and covers the genesis, evolution and status quo of the four major regional organizations.


Promoting Economic Cooperation in South Asia

Promoting Economic Cooperation in South Asia

Author: Sadiq Ahmed

Publisher: SAGE Publications Pvt. Limited

Published: 2010-02-04

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9788132103110

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This volume examines the dichotomy between the two faces of South Asia—one poverty stricken and lagging in development, the other highly urbanized and growing rapidly—and tries to find a workable solution to bridge this gap. It looks at the many policy and institutional constraints that contribute to this dichotomy, especially regional conflict that has made South Asia one of the least integrated regions of the world.