Chapter 2: Purposes and Roles of Regional Organizations in the International System

The Emergence and Rise of Regional Organizations in the International System

The scholarly literature on regionalisation and regional organizations has been mostly European and EU-centric. Truly, with regard to regionalism, Europe remains the most advanced and integrated region; others, such as the Middle East and Africa, have made only limited progress in the same respect. ). Regional organizations have expanded across the globe, but their success has varied enormously between Europe and the developing world. With the arrival of new and open regionalism in the 1980s, the Euro-centric approach was seriously challenged by the rapid spread of regionalism into other regions at the same time. European regionalism is characteristically more progressive than others because it has ‘aimed at taming nationalism (and sovereignty in the case of the EEC) by protecting and promoting human rights, democracy and the rule of law as key prerequisites for peace and prosperity.In contrast, non-Western regionalism is characterised by anticolonialism, national liberation from colonial rule, the preservation of sovereignty and the avoidance of a great power rivalry in the Third World. In terms of their scope and agenda, regional organizations can be either single-purpose (economically oriented or politically [security/ military] oriented) or multi-purpose. Economically oriented organizations generally focus on the economy and trade, while politically and securityoriented groups address noneconomic issues and challenges. Security -and military- oriented regional organizations are mostly a by-product of the Cold War rivalry between the US and the Soviet Union. Some ceased to exist (e.g. the Warsaw Pact and WEU) or became obsolete (SEATO) in the post-Cold War period, but others (NATO) have survived and undergone significant transformation.

The Purposes of Regional Organizations

The EU is the leading example of multi- or generalpurpose regional organizations. It is well known for its multiplicity of purposes because it aims to economically, politically, socially and culturally integrate with European nations. Compared to the EU, the purposes of other integration schemes, such as those of Asia, the Middle East and Latin America, are less ambitious, though most have achieved these basic goals in the end. Geopolitical competition between rival regional blocs was a key driver of the rise of new regionalism in some parts of the world in the post-Cold War era. Regional blocs signify the division of the world into protectionist spheres of influence and rival civilizations controlled by a few great powers. Despite similarities in the purposes and goals of regional organizations, their markedly different performances indicate an ‘implementation gap’, which has led to many regional organizations progressing far less than their successful equivalents. The ‘implementation gap’ refers to the difference or vacuum between the declared goals and actual achievements of regional organizations

Selected Examples of Single- and Multi-Purpose Regional Organizations

Single Purpose Multi -or General- Purpose

• ASEAN REGIONAL FORUM
• EFTA
• NAFTA
• LAFTA
• LAIA
• EurAsEC
• ECO
• APEC
• NATO
• SEATO
• WARSAW PACT
• WEU
• CENTO

Multi- or General-Purpose

• BENELUX UNION
• NORDIC COUNCIL
• EU
• OAS
• ASEAN
• MERCOSUR
• ANDEAN COMMUNITY
• UNASUR
• CELAC
• CARICOM
• PACIFIC ALLIANCE
• CIS
• ARAB LEAGUE
• GCC
• AFRICAN UNION EC
• OWAS

Economic Purposes and Goals of Regional Organizations

This first category is historically and traditionally founded on the EU model of integration. The aim of the former one is to realise economic integration, while the latter promotes economic development.

The Goal of Economic Integration

The purpose of economic integration shapes the content of its phases. By concluding regional trade agreements in the form of free trade or customs union agreements, countries seek to establish free trade areas or customs unions.

Purposes of each Phase of Economic Integration

Free trade area:

Creating a free trade area with the removal of market barriers.

Customs union:

Forming a customs union with the removal of trade restrictions and setting up mechanisms for common trade policy towards non-members

Common market:

Creating a common market by providing the free movement of factors of production (persons, capital, goods and services)

Economic (or economic and monetary) union:

Reaching a common economic and monetary policy among members by co-ordinating national macroeconomic policies.

Full economic integration:

Harmonisation and unification of monetary, financial and social policies and the creation of supranational institutions.

Comparison of the Evolving Aims of EEC and EU

EEC, The Rome Treaty (1957), Article 2

It shall be the aim of the Community, by establishing a Common Market and progressively approximating the economic policies of Member States, to promote throughout the Community a harmonious development of economic activities, a continuous and balanced expansion, an increased stability, an accelerated raising of the standard of living and closer relations between its Member States.

EU, The Lisbon Treaty (2007), Article 3 (abridged from the original article)

• promote peace, its values and the well-being of its citizens;
• offer freedom, security and justice without internal borders;
• sustainable development based on balanced economic growth and price stability, a highly competitive market economy with full employment and social progress, and environmental protection;
• combat social exclusion and discrimination;
• promote scientific and technological progress;
• enhance economic, social and territorial cohesion and solidarity among member countries
• respect its rich cultural and linguistic diversity;
• establish an economic and monetary union whose currency is the euro;
• uphold and promote its values and interests and contribute to the protection of its citizens.

The Objectives of NAFTA

NAFTA, Article 102: Objectives

The objectives of this Agreement, as elaborated more specifically through its principles and rules, including national treatment, most-favoured-nation treatment and transparency, are to:

1. eliminate barriers to trade in, and facilitate the cross-border movement of, goods and services between the territories of the Parties;
2. promote conditions of fair competition in the free trade area;
3. increase substantially investment opportunities in the territories of the Parties;
4. provide adequate and effective protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights in each Party’s territory;
5. create effective procedures for the implementation and application of this Agreement, for its joint administration and for the resolution of disputes; and
6. establish a framework for further trilateral, regional and multilateral cooperation to expand and enhance the benefits of this Agreement

The Goal of Promoting Economic Development

The main goal of developing countries is to accelerate their development, which they achieve through the following actions:

• enlarging the market to gain from economies of scale and the potential for developing a competitive structure;
• pooling scarce resources essential for economic growth, such as capital, skilled labour, foreign exchange and entrepreneurship;
• avoiding unnecessary and uneconomic duplication in capital investment, research expenditures and the application modern technology

Purposes of MERCOSUR

PURPOSES, PRINCIPLES AND INSTRUMENTS Article I

• The States Parties hereby decide to establish a common market, which shall be in place by 31 December 1994 and shall be called the “common market of the southern cone” (MERCOSUR).
• This common market shall involve: The free movement of goods, services and factors of production between countries through, inter alia, the elimination of customs duties and non-tariff restrictions on the movement of goods, and any other equivalent measures;
• The establishment of a common external tariff and the adoption of a common trade policy in relation to third States or groups of States, and the co-ordination of positions in regional and international economic and commercial forums;
• The co-ordination of macroeconomic and sectoral policies between the States Parties in the areas of foreign trade, agriculture, industry, fiscal and monetary matters, foreign exchange and capital, services, customs, transport and communications and any other areas that may be agreed upon, in order to ensure proper competition between the States Parties;
• The commitment by States Parties to harmonize their legislation in the relevant areas in order to strengthen the integration process.

Aims and Purposes of ASEAN

As set out in the Article 2 of ASEAN Declaration the aims and purposes of ASEAN are

1. To accelerate the economic growth, social progress and cultural development in the region through joint endeavours in the spirit of equality and partnership in order to strengthen the foundation for a prosperous and peaceful community of Southeast Asian Nations;
2. To promote regional peace and stability through abiding respect for justice and the rule of law in the relationship among countries of the region and adherence to the principles of the United Nations Charter;
3. To promote active collaboration and mutual assistance on matters of common interest in the economic, social, cultural, technical, scientific and administrative fields;
4. To provide assistance to each other in the form of training and research facilities in the educational, professional, technical and administrative spheres;
5. To collaborate more effectively for the greater utilisation of their agriculture and industries, the expansion of their trade, including the study of the problems of international commodity trade, the improvement of their transportation and communications facilities and the raising of the living standards of their peoples;
6. To promote Southeast Asian studies; and
7. To maintain close and beneficial cooperation with existing international and regional organizations with similar aims and purposes, and explore all avenues for even closer cooperation among themselves

Political Goals of Regional Organizations

The EU was a politically motivated integration from the outset, as it sought a supranational political integration. In contrast to the EU model, other regions have tended to set non-economic goals even if the level of economic integration among members is low or indicative of failure.

The Prevention or Preservation of Nationalism

The EU experience is compatible with the purpose of preventing nationalism. Non-western regionalisms were inspired by exactly the opposite motivations, to advance nationalism and preserve sovereignty after centuries of colonial rule.

Developing a Common Foreign and Security-Defence Policy

The purpose of developing a common foreign and security-defence policy is also peculiar to the EU. Jointly developed defence capabilities through collaborative projects will be available for EU military operations in the future.

Challenging and Resisting the Dominance of Great Powers and their Interventions

In the Western world, NATO has functioned as a transcontinental alliance to keep the US included, Russia excluded and Germany suppressed during the heightened Cold War rivalry. For some states in the region, such as Venezuela and Brazil, MERCOSUR was a tool for counterbalancing the dominance of the US within the continent. In Asia as well, the “ASEAN way” of nonintervention in internal affairs and of informal institutionalism largely originated in direct opposition to EU and US efforts at pushing regional integration. SCO has been generally deemed a bloc which has developed a strong opposition to the Western-led liberal world order and the growing US-NATO military and strategic presence in Central Asia in the post September 11 era. Alternatively, GUUAM, which Georgia, Uzbekistan, Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Moldova formed in 1997, can be regarded as a counterresponse to the re-emergence of a Russian hegemonic influence in these former-Soviet republics.

Preserving Cultural Identity and Autonomy, Enhancing Statehood, and Boosting State Sovereignty and Political Regimes

Nationalism and national liberation movements in the Middle East, Asia and Africa accompanied, and even led, early stages of contemporary regionalism in the postSecond World War era. Pan Arabism, pan-Africanism, pan-Americanism and European identity are among the most prominent unifying foundations for regionalist claims. Regional organizations established in non-western regions – particularly the OAU and the Arab League – played an emancipatory role in the liberation of these regions from their former colonial rulers.

Objectives of Organization of African Unity

The main objectives of the OAU were, inter alia, to rid the continent of the remaining vestiges of colonization and apartheid; to promote unity and solidarity among African States; to coordinate and intensify cooperation for development; to safeguard the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Member States and to promote international cooperation within the framework of the United Nations.

Conflict Management at the Regional Level (as an Alternative or Complement to the UN’s Universal Approach)

During the preparatory stages of the UN Charter, the Latin American states and the Arab League led efforts to provide regionalism with a strong place in the UN collective security system despite US insistence that the UNSC should not share its authority in managing the system. The final compromise between these regionalist and universalist positions was that regional organizations would play a part both;

• in the settlement of international disputes using peaceful means and without resort to the UNSC and
• in the conduct of collective security system under the strict control of UNSC in accordance with the Chapter VIII of the Charter (entitled Regional Arrangements).

UN Charter, Chapter VIII Article 53 (1)

The Security Council shall, where appropriate, utilize such regional arrangements or agencies for enforcement action under its authority. But no enforcement action shall be taken under regional arrangements or by regional agencies without the authorization of the Security Council, with the exception of measures against any enemy state, as defined in paragraph 2 of this Article, provided for pursuant to Article 107 or in regional arrangements directed against renewal of aggressive policy on the part of any such state, until such time as the Organization may, on request of the Governments concerned, be charged with the responsibility for preventing further aggression by such a state.

Social and Cultural Goals of Regional Organizations

Social and cultural issues and concerns are sometimes among the purposes of regional organizations. The problem areas of education, women, health, unemployment, poverty and social exclusion are the most frequently referenced issues in the main texts and documents of regional organizations.

The Roles of Regional Organizations

To respond to the question of which goals or functions regional organizations may adopt, the present study examines the assumptions below: regional organizations as a hegemon’s sphere of influence; a conflict management or resolution tool; a talking point for regional leaders; a way to advance private interests and extract rent; and an agent of global governance on issues ranging from deeper economic integration, dispute settlement, peacekeeping, humanitarian intervention and state building to the protection of democracy and human rights, environmental pollution, migration, criminal activities, disaster relief, social rights and gender problems.

Serving the Interests of a Hegemonic Power (Hegemonic Regionalism)

Regional organizations can also facilitate summit meetings between member country leaders and highlevel officials, although this is not one of their official purposes

Regions and regionalism have generally been subject to direct or indirect influence of intra- or extra regional hegemons and pivotal states. To illustrate, by 2005, U.S. administrations sought to lead a hemispheric free trade area (FTAA) that would extend from Alaska to Chile in line with its neoliberal trade liberalisation agenda, but the rise of leftleaning and anti-American leaders and regimes in Latin America strongly resisted this. Russia has also actively promoted regionalism in its backyard, which can be regarded as a counterweight against Western efforts, especially those of the EU, in the same areas. China is also enthusiastic about further economic integration within the security-focused SCO as part of its ambitious Belt and Road project, which extends from Beijing to London through Central Asia, South Asia and Africa. Lastly, as pivotal sates, Nigeria in West Africa and South Africa in Southern Africa have assumed prominent roles in promoting regionalism through their influence in their respective regions.

Being a Communication Tool between Regional Political Leaders (Talking Club)

Regional organizations can also facilitate summit meetings between member country leaders and high-level officials, although this is not one of their official purposes. They act more as a ‘talking club’, though this is not to say that this function is obsolete. Indeed, they have often been convenient platforms for regular communication about diverse issues. This function is critical in regional organizations whose members are developing nations since they generally struggle to meet on a regular basis. APEC, LAIA and SCO are primary examples of the talking club function in economic matters in particular.

Extracting Rent and Promoting Private Interests (Patronage Politics)

Regional organizations may also serve as a source of rentseeking by its members. Particular groups – most notably bureaucrats who work at both the national and regional levels as well as politicians – try to affect policy outcomes in certain regional organizations, especially African ones, to seek rents, such as revenues, generous budgets, rewards, benefits or salaries from large projects in which the organisation is involved. The role of regional organizations in this regard can be viewed as the ‘dark side’ of regionalism.

Participating in Global Governance (Regional Governance)

The UN and other global organizations, such as the WTO, the IMF, the World Bank and the OECD, which are known as the champions of neo-liberal globalisation, have dominated the proliferation of global governance regimes on numerous wide-ranging issues to the recipient regions. Regional governance is defined ‘as institutionalized modes of social coordination to produce binding rules and/or public goods and services in one or several issueareas at the regional level.

Regional Economic Governance

In the modern globalised world, regional economic governance includes promoting deeper economic integration beyond economic development. As European integration intensified, the developmental focus of nonEuropean regionalism shifted towards engaging in more involved forms of economic, financial and even monetary integration ‘once the constraints of geopolitics had loosened’ in the post-Cold War era.

Regional Dispute Settlement

In Europe, the European Court of Justice, the EU’s main legislative body, has been one of the most effective judicial bodies in solving trade disputes, while NAFTA has a binding dispute settlement mechanism on the other side of the Atlantic. In Latin America, MERCOSUR allows ‘for inter-state adjudication of disputes by arbitral panels, whose rulings can be appealed to a Permanent Review Tribunal. This state of affairs in dispute settlement resembles that of peacekeeping and conflict mediation, which has not or only recently arrived in the region.

Regional Security Governance

This form of regionalism involves taking security-related hard responsibilities on terrorism, conflict prevention and resolution, humanitarian intervention, peacekeeping and peace-building, and state-building. Regional organizations have assumed new and key roles in settling conflicts and securing peace and stability across their respective regions and beyond. These responsibilities represent a break from marginal roles in the past. The R2P principle is a highly contested and still evolving concept. At its core is the international community’s protection of threatened civilian populations from the wrath of their own governments in case of serious crimes, such as mass killings or genocide. Recent crises in Libya and Syria have exacerbated the debate over this concept.

Regional Democracy and Human Rights Governance

The attitudes of regional organizations towards democracy promotion and human rights vary widely according to local needs and conditions. Such variation is apparent in regionalism examples around the world that have demonstrated remarkably different stances regarding these issue area. For the EU, democracy and human rights governance is vital for its posture as the global champion of democracy and human rights norms. In spite of the contribution of the EU to the democratisation of Europe, ‘it is more debatable to what extent the EU is able to stabilize democracy once countries have joined. In nonWestern regionalisms, democracy promotion has not usually been among the goals of regional organizations until recently. This is the case in Asia, despite its higher level of economic regionalisation in comparison with other non-western regions, and it concerns the existence of state-led capitalism under strong leaders and the prevalence of illiberal regimes in the region. In Latin America, where democratic governments were often overthrown by coup d’etats throughout the Cold War years, regional organizations have survived the political instability and chaos caused by failed military regimes. In Africa, where authoritarian regimes are still dominant in some countries, regional organizations such as the African Union have been particularly intrusive in preventing unconstitutional changes of government and reestablishing democracy and elected political leaders following coups, even by threatening the use of force or economic sanctions if necessary. The record of the Middle East in democracy promotion is rather bleak: ‘Instead of promoting democracy and respect for human rights, the Arab League has traditionally been a ‘club of and for authoritarian Arab states. In Africa, an African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights was set up in 2004 by virtue of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights adopted by the OAU in 1981. In Asia, there has been some progress on the regional level towards the protection of human rights. In the Middle East, regional organizations in the f Therefore, Middle Eastern regionalism hardly succeeded in liberalising or democratising the region.ield of human rights protection have had a rather gloomy role.

Regional Environmental Governance and Disaster Relief

This form of regional governance is instrumental in handling environmental problems and natural disasters. Global institutions such as UN organs and agencies have long been perceived as more powerful and capable normenforcers than regional organizations in the area of environmental protection.

Regional Social, Medical, Educational, Migratory, Criminal and Gender Governance

This kind of regional governance covers humanitarian issues and challenges as well as transnational criminal activities, including the following: migration; education; pandemics; human, arms and drug trafficking; corruption; money laundering; refugee flows; piracy; social rights; and gender inequality. In North America, NAFTA was the first regional organisation to sign a side agreement on labour rights with an accompanying agency called North American Agreement on Labour Cooperation (NAALC). Regional organizations have recently assumed some key roles in responding to pandemics and diseases. With regard to regional anti-corruption regimes, many regional organizations, including ECOWAS, the African Union and the Arab League, introduced anti-corruption conventions during the 2000s. Regional organizations have started to increase their efficacy in addressing criminal activities. Regional Organizations in the International System benefit from exchanges and visits between European universities.