Regionalism and the United Nations

Abstract

Old soldiers may “just fade away” as General Douglas MacArthur reminded us, but the controversy over the relative merits of regionalism and globalism in international organization will ever be with us. That question generated as much heat as any other issue at San Francisco in 1945 with the possible exception of the veto. In more recent years the inadequacies of the United Nations, the changing nature of the Cold War, the growth and expansion of regional organizations, the proliferation of nuclear weapons, and the continued shrinking of the universe have kept the heat of this controversy at a relatively high level.

ASEAN Mechanism for Human Security Problems in Southeast Asia: What's Wrong?

“…This is as expressed by Victor Bulmer Thomas, "In policy terms, almost every country in the world has been chosen to meet the challenge of globalization in part through a regional response" (Thomas, 2001). The existence of regionalization has become a discussion at the UN, especially how it relates to the UN system (Wilcox, 1965). Article 52-54 of Chapter VIII of the UN Charter mentions the role of regional international organizations.…”

Regionalism

“…Nowhere in the early texts on regional organisations we are to find a definition (or explanation, for that matter) of what constitutes a region, and how a region differs, for example, from a collective security organisation. Until the work of Wilcox (1965), followed by Haas (1966) and Haas and Schmitter (1973) the discipline of IR lacked a proper, structured discussion and understanding (or at least an attempt at it) of how regionalism impacts on processes of global governance. For the first time, regions are treated as entities and levels of analysis, and not just as self-evident outputs of inter-state economic cooperation.…”

“…This is evident, for example, when he argues that regions are 'relative', that 'there are no naturally determined regions' (Nye, 1971, p. 6), and that regions need a 'strong belief' and an 'iconography' to exist (Nye, 1971, p. 7), as well as 'discourses of legitimacy' (Nye, 1971, p. 7). He, however, defines the 'independent variable' on the basis of 'geographical contiguity' (Nye, 1971, p. 8), on the basis of the works of Wilcox (1965), Haas (1966), andDeutsch (1961).…”

Norm Subsidiarity and Regional Orders: Sovereignty, Regionalism, and Rule-Making in the Third World1

“…Regional arrangements, of which the 56 On the high level of compliance with the global territorial integrity norm, see Zacher (2001). Inter-American system was the oldest and most elaborate example, not only had a better understanding of local challenges to peace and security, they might also be in a better position to provide assistance and mediation in regional conflicts than a distant UN Security Council (Wilcox 1965;Etzioni 1970). Hence, to quote a Latin American delegate to the San Francisco Conference which drafted the UN Charter, ''inserting the inter-American system into the [UN] Charter…was a question of safeguarding a whole tradition which was dear to our continent…and a very active one'' and would ''contribute…to world peace and security.''…”

“…Faced with the Roosevelt administration’s clear preference for a universal organization, Latin American states argued that placing the whole responsibility for international peace and security in the hands of the UN Security Council would compromise the autonomy of regional institutions such as their own Inter‐American system (including the soon‐to‐be‐created the Organization of American States). Regional arrangements, of which the Inter‐American system was the oldest and most elaborate example, not only had a better understanding of local challenges to peace and security, they might also be in a better position to provide assistance and mediation in regional conflicts than a distant UN Security Council (Wilcox 1965; Etzioni 1970). Hence, to quote a Latin American delegate to the San Francisco Conference which drafted the UN Charter, “inserting the inter‐American system into the [UN] Charter…was a question of safeguarding a whole tradition which was dear to our continent…and a very active one” and would “contribute…to world peace and security.” 57 Thanks to Latin American advocacy, supported by the Arab League member states, the Charter formally recognized the role of regional organizations as instruments of conflict control, and member states were asked to “make every effort to achieve peaceful settlement of local disputes through such regional arrangements” (Article 33/1, Chapter VI and Article 52/2, Chapter VIII).…”