1. What is the impact of
regional integration?
Regional Integration among Development Countries
from a social constructivist point of view
Elisabeth Kaneza

2. Overview
 Introduction
 Social Constructivism in IR
- Main ideas of soc. constructivism
 Case Study: Regional integration
- Definition of „integration“
- 4 stages of regional integration
- Definition of cooperation
- Regional Integration among Developing Countries (RIDC)
- Impact of RIDC on member countries
 Conclusion
 Suggested questions for the discussion
 Bibliography

3. Social Constructivism in IR
 International system exists as an
intersubjective awareness among people
 International system consists in thoughts
and ideas
 Since ideas can change, the system itself
will change

4. Main ideas of Social Constructivism
 Social construction of reality
Human relations, social structures consist of
thoughts and ideas (Wendt)
 Understanding or verstehen
„Subjective understanding is the specific
characteristic of social knowledge“ (Weber)
 View of the state
„States are artificial creations“ (Vico)

5. Video: Let Africa trade with Africa
Source:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4f9aZr
WdnFc&feature=player_embedded#!

6. Case Study: Regional integration
‘European integration has a transformative impact
on the European state system and its constituent
units […] in the process agents’ (states and elites)
identity and subsequently their interests and
behaviour have equally changed’ (Christiansen et
al., p.529)

7. The fallacy of transposition
 European integration served as model to
developing countries
 Misunderstanding of regional approach:
integration vs. cooperation
 Underestimation of special conditions in
Europe

8. Definition of „integration“
 Integration is a process aiming at
abolishing discrimination between local
and foreign goods, services, and factors

9. 4 stages of integration
1) Free Trade Area (FTA) ->removing
barriers
2) Customs Union ->common external tariff
3) Common market ->mobility of goods
and services
4) Economic Union -> harmonisation of
nat. economic policies

10. Definition of cooperation
 Cooperation includes concerted actions
aimed at lessening discrimination in
certain areas of common interest

11. Regional Integration among Developing
Countries (RIDC)
- Regional integration seen as conducive to
economic development
- Main argument: positive effect of infant
industry protection in a regional union on
quality control, marketing techniques and
other prerequisites for later success on world
markets (training ground argument)
- Voting power due to politically collective
bargaining

12. Impact of RIDC on member countries
 „Spill-over“ from the economic to the political arena
 Production of international collective goods, i.e.
regional security
 Formation of common objectives by neighboring
countries (consensus building)
 Consensus building can lead to mutual regimes of
norms and rules or concrete agreements
 Restraints in national unilateral policy making/loss of
sovereignty
 Adjustmet of production structures and policy reforms

13. RIDC unsuccessful?
 „RIDC has more or less failed…“ (Inotai,
1986)
 Approx. 10% intraregional trade in AU
 „South-South“ trade did not offer a viable
alternative to trade with industrialised
countries
 RIDC cannot be a substitute for domestic
economic policies

14. Conclusion (1)
 Social Constructivism stresses the
importance of ideas and thoughts as
preconditions for social construction
 Regional integration cannot be explained with
realist notion of states‘ (materialist) interests
 RIDC encouraged economic policy reforms
 However, envisaged trade benefits and
welfare were not achieved
 Move away from integration, towards
cooperation

15. Conclusion (2)
 Focus on common interests or joint production of
public goods (education, research and
development (R&D), infrastructure, evironment)
 Cooperation has the benefit that it‘s not
externally imposed
 Initiative for policy reforms comes from within
the participating countries
 Remaining challenge: successful regional
coopeartion needs stable macroeconomic and
political environment

16. THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR
ATTENTION!!!

17. Suggested questions for the discussion
1) Do the gains from intraregional trade
have the potential to be a substitute for
foreign aid?
2) Should the European Model be exported
to developing regions?
3) Why trading with the region at all?

18. Bibliography
Hopf, T. (1998). The Promise of Constructivism in International Relations Theory.
In International Security, Vol.23(1)
Inotai, A. (1986). Regional Integration in the New World Economic Environment.
Budapest: Akademiai Kiado
Jackson, R. (2006). Social Constructivism. In Jackson, R; Sörensen, G. (2006).
Introduction to International Relations. Oxford: Oxford University Press
Langhammer, R.J.; Hiemenz, U. (1990). Regional integration among developing
countries: opportunities, obstacles and options. In Kieler Studien, Vol. 232
Schimmelfennig, F. (2003). The EU, NATO and the Integration of Europe: Rules
and Rhetoric. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
Wendt, A. (1992). Anarchy is What States Make of It. In International
Organization, Vol.46(2)