is the relationship between regional integration and globalisation?
Globalisation refers to both the emergence of a global economy and to a series of non-economic developments with worldwide implications. Regional integration can be regarded both as a manifestation of and a response to globalisation. As todays improved communication and transport systems and falling trade barriers have made the world smaller, there seems to be a growing pressure on countries to organise themselves at a macro-regional level. So while the driving forces for globalisation are mainly coming from private industry and trade, governments and public actors primarily drive regionalisation. As such one can think of regionalisation processes as possible ways of “controlling” the disadvantages (bads) of globalisation and as building blocks for the globalisation of public goods. How and why does regional integration occur? And what is there to be researched about it? Regional integration occurs whenever there is a will of sovereign states to work together. And undoubtedly, regional
