Globalization, regional integration and the EU: pleadings for a broader perspective

Summary:

Whether we agree to more positive or rather skeptical positions on globalization, it is assumable that globalization and regional integration are related issues. The following reflections will analyze the theoretical debate on globalization and regional integration and the special case of the EU. Is the EU a possible model for regional efforts in other world regions and to which extent?

The answer to this question is closely tied to the novel debate on globalization and regionalization. Both phenomena can hardly be isolated from the changes and challenges that started in the early 1980s, but how far are globalization and regionalization linked to each other? This paper will argue that both developments are two sides of the same coin that contradict each other, but condition each other at the same time. The following chapter will analyze globalization and regional integration as an inter-dependant process of a challenge and its response. Based on this, the analysis will discuss the EU’s role in this process. The high attraction of the EU on other world regions requires a closer look on European integration. Could or is the EU a possible global paradigm for regional integration? Doubts are justified on the assumption that the European model as a whole could be imitated by other regions to automatically achieve the same effects (Murray 2004; Kühnhardt 2004).

Nevertheless, singular features of European integration may motivate other regions to follow a similar track. The creation of a common market may be one. These reflections allow a few concluding thoughts that will plead for a broader view on globalization, regional integration and the EU.

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