Civil Society and World Regions

How Citizens Are Reshaping Regional Governance in Times of Crisis

Edited by Lorenzo Fioramonti - Contributions by Chukwudi David Anyanwu; Mercedes Botto; Alan Collins; Antonio Fiori; Andréas Godsäter; Okechukwu C. Iheduru; Sunhyuk Kim; Helen E.S. Nesadurai; Marco Pinfari; Jan Aart Scholte and Andy Storey

Supranational regionalism and regional integration have for a long time been top-down processes, led by the few and imposed on the many. The role of citizens, especially those active in civil society, has been neglected by scholars, students, and commentators of regionalism. In reaction to the prevalence of these top-down models, a “new regionalism” approach has proliferated in the past few years. This book aims to further develop such a research agenda by providing an up-to-date overview of the contribution of civil society to world regionalism, from Europe to Africa, Asia, and the Americas. This is not only relevant as a research topic; it is also of critical importance from a political standpoint. As regions across the world experience prolonged governance crises, it becomes paramount to understand the extent to which these new regional formations actually reflect the interests and needs of their people. While old regionalism was accepted as a de facto elite-driven byproduct of both the Cold War and neoliberal globalization, the twenty-first-century regionalism—if it is to survive—will need to refocus its objectives through new forms of participation and inclusion. Regions without citizens are unlikely to stand the test of time, especially in times of crises.

Lexington Books

Pages: 204 • Trim: 6¼ x 9¼

978-0-7391-8710-4 • Hardback • December 2013 • $120.00 • (£92.00)

978-1-4985-1406-4 • Paperback • January 2015 • $57.99 • (£45.00)

978-0-7391-8711-1 • eBook • December 2013 • $55.00 • (£42.00)

Subjects: Political Science / International Relations / General, Political Science / Civics & Citizenship, Political Science / World / General

Civil Society and World Regions

How Citizens Are Reshaping Regional Governance in Times of Crisis

Hardback

Paperback

eBook

Summary

Supranational regionalism and regional integration have for a long time been top-down processes, led by the few and imposed on the many. The role of citizens, especially those active in civil society, has been neglected by scholars, students, and commentators of regionalism. In reaction to the prevalence of these top-down models, a “new regionalism” approach has proliferated in the past few years. This book aims to further develop such a research agenda by providing an up-to-date overview of the contribution of civil society to world regionalism, from Europe to Africa, Asia, and the Americas. This is not only relevant as a research topic; it is also of critical importance from a political standpoint. As regions across the world experience prolonged governance crises, it becomes paramount to understand the extent to which these new regional formations actually reflect the interests and needs of their people. While old regionalism was accepted as a de facto elite-driven byproduct of both the Cold War and neoliberal globalization, the twenty-first-century regionalism—if it is to survive—will need to refocus its objectives through new forms of participation and inclusion. Regions without citizens are unlikely to stand the test of time, especially in times of crises.

Details

Lexington Books

Pages: 204 • Trim: 6¼ x 9¼

978-0-7391-8710-4 • Hardback • December 2013 • $120.00 • (£92.00)

978-1-4985-1406-4 • Paperback • January 2015 • $57.99 • (£45.00)

978-0-7391-8711-1 • eBook • December 2013 • $55.00 • (£42.00)

Subjects: Political Science / International Relations / General, Political Science / Civics & Citizenship, Political Science / World / General

Author

Lorenzo Fioramonti is associate professor, Jean Monnet Chair in Regional Integration and Governance Studies, and director of the Centre for the Study of Governance Innovation at the University of Pretoria.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: The Role of Civil Society in (Re)Shaping World Regions
Lorenzo Fioramonti
Chapter 2: Civil Society and the Reinvention of Regions
Jan Aart Scholte
Chapter 3: Chronicle of a European Crisis Foretold
Andy Storey
Chapter 4: Civil Society, Labour Movements and the Challenge to Capitalist Regional Integration in Latin America
Mercedes Botto
Chapter 5: Can Caribbean Civil Society Effectively Influence Regional Policy?
Chukwudi David Anyanwu
Chapter 6: The Potential of Civil Society in Regional Governance in East Asia
Sunhyuk Kim and Antonio Fiori
Chapter 7: Building a People-oriented Community in Southeast Asia
Alan Collins
Chapter 8: Civil Society and Land Conflicts in Southeast Asia
Helen E.S. Nesadurai
Chapter 9: Regionalization ‘From Below’ in Southern Africa
Andréas Godsäter
Chapter 10: Civil Society and Regional Integration in West Africa
Okechukwu C. Iheduru
Chapter 11: Transnational Civil Society and Regionalism in the Arab world
Marco Pinfari

Reviews

This book underlines the vital importance of civil society in regionalization processes across the globe. Legitimation, manipulation, and contestation are strategies that NGOs pursue everywhere in shaping the governance of regions. Editor and authors have succeeded in providing first-rate accounts that deepen greatly our understandings of regionalization as processes that are much more than state- or market-driven. Future work will have to take account of this significant reframing of the analysis regionalism in world politics.

— Peter J. Katzenstein, Cornell University

This timely collection brings together varieties of civil societies and global regions; its contribution to regional governance is thus not just doubled, but rather squared. Informed by regional cases and experts, this book considers prospects for sustainable regional development at a time when the Old West is declining and ‘new powers’ are advancing. An important reflection on which interests are served by contemporary regionalism and which institutions may advance or decline in the post-global crisis era.
— Timothy M. Shaw, University of Massachusetts Boston

This must-read book provides detailed accounts of how citizens are reshaping regional governance structures. Far too little research has been conducted on how regionalization is spurred from below and this book provides much needed knowledge to the under-studied field. Scholars interested in comparative regionalism will find that civil society often contests existing regionalism paradigms and thereby fosters alternative models at various places across the globe.
— Michael Schulz, Associate Professor in Peace and Development, University of Gothenburg

Despite the explosion of regionalism throughout the world, the role of civil society remains neglected by academics and policymakers. This thoroughly researched book solves this fallacy, providing an impressive account of the many different ways in which civil society contributes to regionalism around the world. Anyone seeking to move beyond the state-centric and top-down perspectives dominating the research field will be inspired by this work.
— Fredrik Söderbaum, University of Gothenburg, Sweden