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EU-driven Interregionalism and the (De)Legitimisation of Regionalism and Multilateralism. Fredrik Söderbaum & Luk Van Langenhove. Context. GARNET workpackage 5.1.1. Book ‘The EU as a Global Player. The Politics of Interregionalism’ (2006)
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EU-driven Interregionalism and the (De)Legitimisation of Regionalism and Multilateralism Fredrik Söderbaum & Luk Van Langenhove United Nations University - Comparative Regional Integration Studies UNU-CRIS
Context • GARNET workpackage 5.1.1. • Book ‘The EU as a Global Player. The Politics of Interregionalism’ (2006) • New book project: relationship between interregionalism and regionalism/multilateralism United Nations University - Comparative Regional Integration Studies UNU-CRIS
Wat is the issue? • Potentials of regions to be global actors • One regional organisation with clear global ambitions • Constraints of interregionalism • Limitations of the regular ‘theatre’ of international relations • Absence of theatre of bilateral interregional relations United Nations University - Comparative Regional Integration Studies UNU-CRIS
Varieties of Interregionalism United Nations University - Comparative Regional Integration Studies UNU-CRIS
What are the problems? • Policy problem • Academic problem • Methodological problem • Technical problem United Nations University - Comparative Regional Integration Studies UNU-CRIS
Policy Problem • What place for interregionalism in the Westphalian world order? • How do states and multilateral organisations deal with interregionalism? United Nations University - Comparative Regional Integration Studies UNU-CRIS
Academic Problem • Understanding the dynamics of interregional relations • Relationship between interregionalism and regionalism/multilateralism United Nations University - Comparative Regional Integration Studies UNU-CRIS
Methodological Problem: nomothesis vs. idiography • The nomothetic trend • Towards a world of regions • Many different drivers of the process, but important is: regions create regions • The idiographic process • EU is not a model but it is an important region builder United Nations University - Comparative Regional Integration Studies UNU-CRIS
The Broad Research Agenda … • Why are regions developing interregional relations? • How do they do it? • What is the impact of this on ‘normal’ international relations between states? United Nations University - Comparative Regional Integration Studies UNU-CRIS
What about Europe? • EU contributor to creation of regional organisations in other parts of the world • Indirectly: EU is taken as an example • Directly: EU promotes its own regionalism through teaching and support EU imposes regionalism (EPA agreements) • EU contributes to the relevance and impact of regional organisations in other parts of the world • By stimulating competition between regions • By being at the forefront or being an actor inside the UN United Nations University - Comparative Regional Integration Studies UNU-CRIS
Two approaches needed • Nomothetic study of interregionalism • Idiographic study of EU’s relations with other regional organisations and with the global polity United Nations University - Comparative Regional Integration Studies UNU-CRIS
Our research questions • Does regionalism give rise to interregionalism and vice versa? • In what ways does interregionalism change the nature of regionalism? • To what extent does interregionalism promote or hinder regionalist projects? • Can interregionalism be seen as part of new world order that moves away from both unipolarism and classical Westphalian multilateralism? • Does interregionalism form part of a pattern of regions being part of world order, and what are the impacts of conventional multilateralism? United Nations University - Comparative Regional Integration Studies UNU-CRIS
By way of conclusion • Interregionalism is a driver towards more regionalism • Legitimation paradox: • EU needs other regions to manifestate itself as a region • EU wants to act more as a state than as a region in the multilateral framework United Nations University - Comparative Regional Integration Studies UNU-CRIS