P/P/107. Regionalism and globalisation

The paper looks at the dichotomy between globalisation and regionalism that is promoted within International Political Economy (IPE) in Europe, the Americas and Asia-Pacific region, focusing on the European Union (EU) as the most striking example of a regional project . The paper outlines the history of regionalism that has been an issue of political discussion since the Second World War. Various forms of cooperation between states are described. The question is raised whether regionalism can be seen as a challenge for globalisation since it may lead to the emergence of closed economic blocks that discriminate non-members (e.g. EU becoming a ÞFortress EuropeÕ). The paper concludes that regionalism and globalisation are two sides of the same coin.