REGIONALISM, REGIONAL INTEGRATION AND INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS: A THEORETICAL INTRODUCTION
Keywords:
Regionalism, Regional integration, International Relations TheoryAbstract
This article offers an introduction to the main theories of regionalism and regional integration. Specifically, it explores the intersections between the overarching IR theories – realism, liberalism and constructivism – and regional processes, as well as highlighting the original theories that emerged within this academic subfield. Its goal is to give the reader an accessible and concise overview of the main visions that have been developed concerning regional phenomena. Thus, the study begins with (1) a conceptual definition of the regionalism and integration processes, followed by (2) a review of the several phases of
regionalism through history and by (3) a theoretical synthesis of regionalism, identifying applications of the main IR theories to the regional field, and detailing the original approaches from integration theory. In its conclusion, the article points out to recent updates of regionalist theories beyond the European reference point.
References
ACHARYA, Amitav; JOHNSTON, Alastair Iain. (2007a) Comparing regional institutions: an
introduction. In JOHNSTON, Alastair Iain & ACHARYA, Amitav (Eds.). Crafting Cooperation:
Regional International Institutions in Comparative Perspective. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 1–31.
______. (2007b) Conclusion: institutional features, cooperation effects, and the agenda for further
research on comparative regionalism. In JOHNSTON, Alastair Iain & ACHARYA, Amitav (Eds.).
Crafting Cooperation: Regional International Institutions in Comparative Perspective.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 244–78.
ADLER, Emanuel; BARNETT, Michael (Eds.). (1998) Security Communities. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press.
ALDEN, Chris; LE PERE, Garth. (2009) South Africa in Africa: Bound To Lead? Politikon, 36(1):
–69.
AMOS, Saurombe. (2010) The role of South Africa in SADC regional integration: the making or
braking of the organization. J. Int’l Com. L. & Tech., 5: 124.
BALASSA, Bela. (1961) Towards a theory of economic integration. Kyklos, 14(1): 1–17.
BARNETT, Michael; SOLINGEN, Etel. (2007) Designed to fail or failure of design? The origins
and legacy of the Arab League. In JOHNSTON, Alastair Iain & ACHARYA, Amitav (Eds.).
Crafting Cooperation: Regional International Institutions in Comparative Perspective.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 180–220.
BATTAGLINO, Jorge M. (2012) The coexistence of peace and conflict in South America: toward a
new conceptualization of types of peace. Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional, 55: 131–
BÖRZEL, Tanja A. (2016) Theorizing Regionalism: Cooperation, Integration, and Governance. In
BÖRZEL, Tanja A. & RISSE, Thomas (Eds.). The Oxford Handbook of Comparative
Regionalism. 1. ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 41–63.
BRICEÑO RUIZ, José. (2007) Strategic Regionalism and Regional Social Policy in the FTAA
Process. Global Social Policy, 7(3): 294–315.
BURGES, Sean W. (2008) Consensual Hegemony: Theorizing Brazilian Foreign Policy after the
Cold War. International Relations, 22(1): 65–84.
CAPORASO, James. (1998) Regional integration theory: understanding our past and anticipating
our future. Journal of European Public Policy, 5(1): 1–16.
CHECKEL, Jeffrey. T. (2016) Regional Identities and Communities. In BÖRZEL, Tanja A. &
RISSE, Thomas (Eds.). The Oxford Handbook of Comparative Regionalism. Oxford: Oxford
University Press, 560–78.
DE LOMBAERDE, Philippe. et al. (2008) Quantitative Monitoring and Comparison of
Regional Integration Processes: Steps Toward Good Practise. Elements of regional integration.
Anais...Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG, publicado em [http://www.nomoselibrary.de/10.5771/9783845210254-149/quantitative-monitoring-and-comparison-of-regionalintegration-processes-steps-toward-good-practise]. Disponibilidade: 10/10/ 2017.
DEUTSCH, Karl W. (1981) Las naciones en crisis. México: Fondo de Cultura Económica.
EFIRD, Brian; KUGLER, Jacek; GENNA, Gaspare. (2003) From War to Integration: Generalizing
Power Transition Theory. International Interactions, 29(4): 293–313.
FAWCETT, Louise L. (Ed.). (2016) International relations of the Middle East. Fourth edition ed.
Oxford: Oxford University Press.
FAWCETT, Louise L.; HURRELL, Andrew (Eds.). (1995) Regionalism in world politics:
regional organization and international order. New York: Oxford University Press.
FLEMES, Daniel (Ed.). (2010) Regional leadership in the global system: ideas, interests and
strategies of regional powers. Farnham, Surrey, England ; Burlington, VT: Ashgate Pub. Co.
GALVÃO, Thiago G. (2009) América do Sul: construção pela reinvenção (2000-2008). Revista
Brasileira de Política Internacional, 52(2): 63–80.
GODEHARDT, Nadine; NABERS, Dirk (Eds.). (2011) Regional powers and regional orders.
Abingdon, Oxon; New York: Routledge.
GRIECO, Joseph. (1999) Realism and Regionalism: American Power and German and Japanese
Institutional Strategies During and After the Cold War. In KAPSTEIN, Ethan B. &
MASTANDUNO, Michael (Eds.). Unipolar politics: realism and state strategies after the Cold
War. New York: Columbia University Press, 107–31.
HAAS, Ernst. B. (2004) The Uniting of Europe: Political, Social, and Economic Forces, 1950-
New Ed edition. Notre Dame, Ind: Univ of Notre Dame Pr.
HALL, Peter A.; TAYLOR, Rosemary C. R. (1996) Political Science and the Three New
Institutionalisms. Political Studies, 44(5): 936–57.
HERBST, Jeffrey. (2007) Crafting regional cooperation in Africa. In JOHNSTON, Alastair Iain &
ACHARYA, Amitav (Eds.). Crafting Cooperation: Regional International Institutions in
Comparative Perspective. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 129–44.
HETTNE, Björn; SÖDERBAUM, Fredrik. (2000) Theorising the Rise of Regionness. New
Political Economy, 5(3): 457–72.
HOFFMANN, Stanley. (1966) Obstinate or Obsolete? The Fate of the Nation-State and the Case of
Western Europe. Daedalus, 95(3): 862–915.
HURRELL, Andrew. (1995) Regionalism in Theoretical Perspective. In FAWCETT, Louise L.;
HURRELL, Andrew (Eds.). Regionalism in world politics: regional organization and
international order. New York: Oxford University Press, 37–73.
______. (2006) Hegemony, liberalism and global order: what space for would-be great powers?
International Affairs, 82(1): 1–19.
______. (2007a) On global order: power, values, and the constitution of international society.
Oxford ; New York: Oxford University Press.
______. (2007b) One world? Many worlds? The place of regions in the study of international
society. International Affairs, 83(1): 127–46.
KEOHANE, Robert O. (1980) The Theory of Hegemonic Stability and Changes in International
Economic Regimes, 1967-1977. In HOLSTI, Ole R.; SIVERSON, Randolph M.; GEORGE,
Alexander L. (Eds.). Change in the International System. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 131–62.
KINDLEBERGER, Charles P. (1986) The World in Depression, 1929-1939: Revised and
Enlarged Edition. Orlando: University of California Press.
LEMKE, Douglas. (2010) Dimensions of hard power: regional leadership and material capabilities.
In FLEMES, Daniel (Ed.). Regional leadership in the global system: ideas, interests and
strategies of regional powers. Farnham, Surrey, England ; Burlington, VT: Ashgate Pub. Co, 31–
LUSTICK, Ian S. (1997) The Absence of Middle Eastern Great Powers: Political “Backwardness”
in Historical Perspective. International Organization, 51(4): 653–83.
MALAMUD, Andrés. (2005) Presidential diplomacy and the institutional underpinnings of
Mercosur: An Empirical Examination. Latin American Research Review, 40(1): 138–64.
MATTLI, Walter. (1999) The logic of regional integration: Europe and beyond. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press.
MEDEIROS, Marcelo de A. (2000) La genèse du MERCOSUD: dynamisme interne, influence
de l’Union européenne et insertion internationale. Paris: L’Harmattan.
MORAVCSIK, Andrew. (1998) The Choice for Europe: Social Purpose and State Power from
Messina to Maastricht. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.
MORAVCSIK, Andrew:SCHIMMELFENNIG, Frank. (2017) Liberal intergovernamentalism. In
WIENER, Antje. & DIEZ, Thomas (Eds.). European Integration Theory. Oxford: Oxford
University Press, 67–87.
MOURÓN, Fernando; ONUKI, Janina. (2015) ¿Brasil es un líder en América del Sur? El papel
brasileiro a través del concepto de liderazgo situacional. Estudos internacionais: revista de
relações internacionais da PUC Minas, 3(1): 9–26.
MUNTSCHICK, Johannes. (2012) Theorising Regionalism and External Influence: A Situationstructural Approach. Mainz Papers on International and European Politics, 2. Mainz: University
of Mainz.
NEUMANN, Iver B. (1994) A Region-Building Approach to Northern Europe. Review of
International Studies, 20(1): 53–74.
OLSON, Mancur. (1965) The Logic of Collective Action: Public Goods and the Theory of
Groups. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
PINFARI, Marco. (2016) Regional Organizations in the Middle East. Oxford: Oxford Handbooks
Online.
PINHEIRO, Leticia; GAIO, Gabrieli. (2014) Cooperation for Development, Brazilian Regional
Leadership and Global Protagonism. Brazilian Political Science Review, 8(2): 8–30.
SCHIMMELFENNIG, Frank. (2018) Regional Integration Theory. Oxford Research
Encyclopedia of Politics, 26.
SNIDAL, Duncan. (1985) The Limits of Hegemonic Stability Theory. International
Organization, 39(4): 579–614.
SÖDERBAUM, Fredrick. (2016) Old, New, and Comparative Regionalism: The History and
Scholarly Development of the Field. In BÖRZEL, Tanja A. & RISSE, Thomas (Eds.). The Oxford
Handbook of Comparative Regionalism. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 16–40.
TAMMEN, Ronald L. (2008) The Organski Legacy: A Fifty-Year Research Program.
International Interactions, 34(4): 314–32.
WENDT, Alexander. (1994) Collective Identity Formation and the International State. American
Political Science Review, 88(2), 384–96.
