This title was first published in 2003. After briefly reviewing the basic theoretical stances animating the rest of the proceedings, Laursen (international politics, U. of Southern Denmark) presents 11 contributions that comparatively review processes of regional integration around the world.

How effective are democracy clauses of regional integration organizations (RIOs) in promoting democratization and democratic consolidation among member-states? RIOs are increasingly adopting "democracy only" clauses in their treaties, requiring democracy and political stability as a condition of membership. Stable democracy is a collective good for RIO members; without political stability, uncertainty regarding economic exchange increases, undermining the promise of integration. The presence of powerful countries may be necessary for the RIOs to legalize democratic conditionality. In this book, the authors argue that once established democracy clauses exert an independent influence in promoting and defending democratic norms and institutions within the member-states by increasing the transparency and credibility of democratic commitment and sanctions for violation. The findings based on the analysis of 40 RIOs around the world and in-depth analysis of the European Union, the Common Market of the South, and the Economic Community of West African States indicate that RIO democracy clauses help prevent democratic backsliding and coups and stimulate democratization and consolidation. With its global scope, originality, and theoretical rigor, this is the first book to catalogue democracy clauses adopted by RIOs worldwide with a thorough analysis of their effectiveness.

Based on Africa's deep routed structural problems, the key aspect of a transformative regional integration is how to promote structural transformation by adapted strategies and policies for the African regional economic communities, for the Continental Free Trade Area, and for the Tripartite Free Trade Area. Regional integration in Africa is based on a conventional (linear) model, starting with trade preference zones and moving to free trade areas, customs unions, and monetary and economic zones, with the ultimate goal to reach political unity. Specific problems of a more transformative regional integration agenda are discussed, such as: ?food security and agriculture; industry development, enterprise growth and competition; and economic partnership agreements with extra-regional partners. In the final section, the impact of three global value chains of importance for Africa (diamonds, shea butter, and sesame) are considered on regions, on sub-regions, and on regional integration. (Series: African Development Perspectives Yearbook, Vol. 18) [Subject: African Studies, Economics

Published in 1998. Migration patterns at the global level have become more complex, affecting more countries, more people and for a greater variety of reasons. Consequently, international migration is receiving increasing attention throughout the world. Migration is an inherently spatial phenomenon. But while the spatial patterns themselves have been described in recent surveys of global contemporary international migration, the causes and consequences of the spatial patterns have received surprisingly little systematic attention. Often migration is seen just from a host country perspective, or from a sending country perspective, without explicit consideration of the sub-national origin and destinations of the flows or linkages between countries. It is well known that migration flows follow certain gravity-like properties, that there is chain migration, that certain regions attract more migrants than others, that migrants are highly urbanised, and that within urban areas there are also concentrations of migrants leading to a reshaping of the urban landscape. However, such observations are often the result of purely descriptive research or case study research. Consequently, there is still a need for an integrated multi-disciplinary study of the spatial impact and the resulting socio-economic and political issues concerning migration. This book aims to fill this gap by bringing together a collection of papers which are primarily concerned with the spatial impact of contemporary international migration patterns, or with related issues. The topics of the papers are wide ranging and the focus varies from broad international perspectives to specific urban areas. Two general themes run through the papers. The first of these is that migration is an inherently dynamic process which may have either equilibrating or self-reinforcing (cumulative) effects. The importance of considering international migration in a dynamic context has come to the fore in several theoretical frameworks which are available in the literature to study this phenomenon. The second major theme of the book is the emphasis on the importance of personal networks in shaping international migration patterns, leading to pronounced clusters of (urban) areas from which migrants are drawn and of migrant settlement.

The books fills a niche in the market for books on regional integration, where most of the publications deal with theory or the analysis of specific cases, almost no books can be found dealing with analytical methodology The book includes a combination of well-known and expert scholars and up and coming young academics The book will appeal strongly to both economists and politics and while the authors present an interdisciplinary approach the economists and political sceintsists approaches are kept separate

Developing countries are active participants in the formation of regional trade arrangements (RTAs), but viewpoints differ on the desirability and on the efficient design of regional integration. The first objective of this paper is to review the regional integration debate for those involved in the preparation of food security strategies among developing countries. The paper concentrates primarily on the economic arguments while acknowledging that political motivations may often be the primary driving force behind RTAs. The second objective of the paper is to identify the potential role which regional integration arrangements might make to promoting food security among their members.

Gathering contributions from leading academics and international trade experts from South Asia, this book is dedicated to the late Dr. Saman Kelegma, whose untimely death in June 2017 left a huge void in the field of regional economic cooperation. Keeping in mind his enduring legacy regarding regional cooperation in South Asia, it covers issues related to the challenges of deeper regional integration in South Asia and proposes strategies to address these challenges. It also offers an up-to-date, rigorous academic analysis of various issues related to low intra-regional trade in South Asia; prevalence of tariff barriers; incidence of a range of non-tariff measures; challenges of weak-trade-related infrastructure and the need for trade facilitation; the political economics of regional integration, highlighting how bilateral political relations affect the integration process; low level of intra-regional investment; South Asia’s pattern of integration with the global and regional value chains; pattern and dominance of informal trade; and alternative regional integration initiatives in South Asia, such as the bilateral, regional, and sub-regional trade agreements within and countries outside this region. Intended primarily for researchers and students of international trade, and policymakers from South Asia and beyond, the book is also a valuable supplementary reference resource for researchers and students. Furthermore, the pragmatic analysis of the policy options presented offers guidance for policymakers in South Asia wanting to implement effective policies and strategies for deeper regional integration.

A Handbook on Regional Integration in Africa advises and informs on current dynamics, opportunities, challenges and policy options for Africa’s regional integration agenda. It is a unique resource for supporting capacity-building on African regional trade issues.

This is an open access title available under the terms of a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 License. It is free to read, download and share on Elgaronline.com. This timely Handbook offers a detailed cross-policy assessment on the need, locale and impact of regional cooperation and integration, addressing how the principles of regional integration have affected multi-level governance and subsequent public policy. Individual chapters provide explanations of what regional cooperation means in a specific policy area, identify relevant theories, and present empirical evidence to support the arguments outlined.

Comparative regional integration has met with increasing interest over the last twenty years with the emergence or reinforcing of new regional dynamics in the EU, NAFTA, MERCOSUR and ASEAN. This volume systematically and comparatively analyses the reasons for regional integration and stalemate in European, Latin American and Asian regional integration. It examines whether regional integration systems change in crisis periods, or more precisely in periods of economic crises, and why they change in different directions. Based on a neo-institutionalist research framework and rigorously comparative research design, the individual chapters analyse why financial and economic crises lead to more or less integrated systems and which factors lead to these institutional changes. Specifically it addresses institutional change in regional integration schemes, power relations between member states and the institutions in different policy domains, and change in individual or collective citizens’ attitudes towards regional integration. Adopting an actor-centred approach, the book highlights which regional integration schemes are influenced by economic and financial crises and how to explain this. This text will be of key interest to scholars, students and policy specialists in regional integration, European Politics, International Relations, and Latin American and Asian studies.