Does Regionalism Promote or Undermine Globalisation - Essay Example

Does Regionalism Promote or Undermine Globalisation Name: Institution: Lecturer: Date: Authors Note: Introduction In this paper I would like to show the interrelatedness of globalization and regionalism, how they converge, diverge and where they overlap each other. The main gist of the article would be how they relate to one another not necessarily in complete cohorts but how they exists as two different entities in one single global economy. I will start by defining key terms then define the same key terms in response to the current economic time then explain how they converge, diverge and overlap each other sometimes being antagonizing and sometimes cooperative but never harmonious with each other. Definition of terms Global is a term that relates to the interconnectedness of the whole world, meaning that the world is one and should be attributed as such, in relation to this globalization is a term that relates to the movement of goods, services, capital, people and information across borders which is due to unification of the world through legislation of a free trade market. Free trade is a term that means the authority or freedom to conduct trade activities without border barriers this is possible through outsourcing of goods from other areas of the world and into your own region. Outsourcing is the action of procuring goods and services from other parts of the world which is made possible by internet connection (World Wide Web), media as a form of advertising, and the stock exchange and banks as an avenue of payment. Region is a term that relates to geographical positioning, countries that share borders are said to be in the same region. Regionalism is then the trade that occurs between countries who share borders and are regarded to be in the same region, example of regions in the world, Europe, Africa, Asia and America. Regionalization is the process of social and economic integration between countries of the same region therefore regionalization is the end effect of regionalism. Definition of key terms in relation to the economy Globalization according to Holm and Sorensen (1995, 1–7), it is the intensification of economic, social, political and cultural relations across borders. In that it does not only deal with the geographical positioning, issues and phenomena among them but also the intensity that is brewing within them not forgetting the territorial boundaries dividing them. The economic aspect of globalization implies that globalization is the elimination of borders to create a global market which is extremely lucrative but brutally competitive in nature. Regionalism is denoted by geographical or cultural boundaries, social and cultural homogeneity, similar political attributes towards third parties, political interdependence, economic interdependence and common behavioral criteria in dealing with issues of conflict resolution. Therefore it is the proneness of governments and people in a common geographical position to pool together resources to solve certain problems that affect them as a region. Linkages in convergence, divergence and overlapping of globalization and regionalism In this section the argument will be in three forms regionalism as a component of globalization (convergent), regionalism as a challenge to globalization (divergent) and regionalism and globalization as parallel processes (overlapping). Regionalism as a component of globalization Regionalism can be regarded as part of globalization if globalization is assumed to be compression of time and space aspects of social relation in that making it a chapter of globalization. This begs the question is regionalism a way station to globalization or is it a means of creating a pluralistic world order where certain socioeconomic organization compete to outdo each with the increasing intensity of change in the economic time? Regionalism may be regarded as a common ground where rival forces battle out for supremacy in a controlled environment gaining and losing in different parts of the world. Therefore competition may be brewing in different regions all over the world and each region making up part of a small global market and with the existence of such small global markets all over the world they form a larger heterogeneous form of market which is global.This goes to prove that regionalism is a building block in creating a better globalized world which must be embraced and accepted by all. Regionalism as a challenge to globalization Regionalism has certain aspects that prove to have an advantageous edge than globalization in that regionalism has set regional trade agreements that govern trade within them and this makes it easier or better for the member states to coexist among each other helping one another to grow as a single unit. In globalization organizations such as the international monetary fund have made it very hard to pursue macroeconomic policies and binding them to liberalization of markets. In globalization huge amounts of capital can be liquidized in a very short time this makes the countries vulnerable by not having the power to control their own currency whereas in regionalism there are regulations that control this and also give time for adjustments to the whole region in regard to the competiveness therefore a region grows simultaneously together without large differences in economic strength. Regionalism also accepts weak markets into the regional block this would show the sustainability of the region to allow smaller players to play in the same large pool without a lot of financial constraints since they all act as one entity. Globalization does not ensure transnational security since it has no guidelines or powers to do so this is a major disadvantage in its part since regionalism addresses this factor. Regionalism and globalization as parallel processes In the global economy both regionalization and globalization apply in that different parts of the world or regions; America, Africa, Asia and Europe this regions all have trade activities that occurs between them as single units. These regions are all under one umbrella of global trade other than that as regional trade is going on there is also global trade of countries of a different region to countries in a different part of the world. A country can therefore indulge in both regional trade as well as global trade at the same time this would mean that a country can promoting regionalism and globalization at the same time. This is perfect evidence that both regionalism and globalization are parallel activities that can work concurrently without one interfering with the other. Conclusion In conclusion, regionalism does it promote or undermine globalization, my essay was not meant to show superiority in the two but to show how they relate with one another. Global means the whole world and region means a part of the world but the two mean two very different things that cannot be measured and should not be measured. The two symbolize two different ideas that correlate naturally without one affecting the other but there is a slight difference that makes both of them independent. Regionalism has set guidelines that are put in place by the member states to govern how they relate with one another and to alienate one party or country being stronger than the rest but they all come together to deal with issues that affect them in mutual understanding. In other words regionalism is more of a community or a family of countries that look out for each other’s interests and help one another to grow economically. On the other hand globalization is the will or it is the freedom given to any player in market to sell his goods to any part of the world without worrying about boundaries. This is possible due to how big, lucrative and insatiable the market is, but it is not regulated, this possess a very big risk to the players in this market but this is a risk they are willing to take in order to make profit. Finally, my essay dealt with term definition, this was paramount because without the correct understanding of what you are dealing with it would make it very hard to understand what is expected. Then those terms were explained in context to what was required, this was significant since it showed what they actually stand for in the contemporary world. Then I discussed the main gist of my essay and that was how regionalism and globalization relate with one another, converging, diverging or overlapping one another. Converging was where they were in complete cohorts and one complemented the other, diverging is where they were so different from one another and overlapping was where they acted as two independent entities that did not bring friction to one another. This essay was written to show the interconnectedness of these two factors not forgetting that they are independent and completely different from one another. References Stiglitz, J. 2003. Globalization and Its Discontents. New York: Norton Najam, A. 2003. ‘The Case against A New International Environmental Organizations.’ Global Governance 9 (3): 367-384. Loser, C. M. 2004. ‘External Debt Sustainability: Guidelines for Low-and Middle-Income countries.’ G-24 Discussion Paper 26. Geneva: UN Conference on Trade and Development. Holm, Hans-Henrik and Georg Sorensen. 1995. “Introduction: What Has Changed?” in Hans-Henrik Holm and Georg Sorensen, eds., Whose World Order? 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