Regionalization Vs Regionalism

The general aspect of regionalism in both political and economic scope has been a contentious one across global economies in the recent past. In this regard, most economies in the world have faced difficulties in divorcing regionalism as a 21st century idea, and Cold War era regional blocks, punctuated by acrimonious political undertones. Nevertheless, with the advent of globalization, coupled with hitherto closed economies embracing neo-liberal economic ideas, there has been a massive upsurge of regionalism in the last two decades across the globe. Despite the traction and buzz created by the terms ‘regionalism’ and ‘regionalization,’ there has been a profound lacuna in the general meaning and understanding of the two ideas among global citizens

The European Union for instance, which is a from of liberal institution that was originally envisaged to cultivate market openness and mitigation of inherent risks to market failure, is by its structures more inclines to gravitate towards regionalization. Highly steeped in liberal institutionalism, the European as currently constituted emphasized the role of international organization in managing world affairs. The most pronounced liberal aspect of the European Union is the structures put in place to in actualizing common member States’ goals and getting various States to cooperate (Gochhayat, 2013). The European Union is mandated to improve trade and economic co-operation within its member states and is obligated by circumstances to promote liberal principles, such as the pursuit of peace and amicable solutions to conflicts around the world, ostensibly to create a conducive environment to commerce. The recent talks within this Brussels based organization how to advance the interests of member States citizens over individual member States is an indication of entrenched liberal

This protectionism has motivated States within the Union to explore ways of creating institutions such a common assembly, a special council of ministries as well as a special court of justice to oversee interaction of European economies. The creation of the State actors in this context is a step towards regionalization concept (Gochhayat, 2013). Moreover, the presence of high transaction costs among member states is a catalyst that fastens the gravitation of this formidable block to regionalization. High transaction cost among member countries is further compounded by the presence of multiple currencies with the European Union. For instance, Britain, a member of the EU until last year prior to the Brexit vote, was still using the Sterling Pound as its currency while the rest of member countries used the Euro currency (Cai, 2010). Correspondingly, logic stream in a semi-political or purely political economy, for example, the European Union part, nations require a specific level of trust between exchange players. On the off chance that such trsut is broken, at the point measures, for example, protectionism ought to be sough after to guarantee legitimate exchange administration. Protectionism, in this regard, is a regionalization relic. Moreover, the European Union had adopted