In the current world there is concept of regional integration in which organizations of different kind advocacies and issues that they promote. Most of the time, regional blocs which are present in every region of the world pertain to the economic growth of each nation. Similar to the blocks of European Union (EU), Mercosur, North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), and Association of South East Asian Nation (ASEAN) are some of the major blocs that are very active in maintaining the economic growth of their regions they are responsible with.
One of the great examples of an active participation in these types of regional blocks is Germany. One of the major organizations that Germany plays an active participation is the EU. Due to the great population that the country has, Germany mainly composes the whole EU region. In addition to this, the territory of the country is composed of different rich resources due to the many rivers and mountain areas. (Germany, 2009)
During the time that the EU was integrating its authority in the region, Germany was still in the post process of recuperation from all the tragic and traumas which had happened during the Cold War Era. From that time, Germany was able to uplift it self and regain the togetherness of East and West Germany. Although there are still conflicts in terms of the development of the then separated regions, the country is tremendously progressing in terms of the economy as well as its provided welfare to their people. Germany also has low unemployment rate therefore, the country is able to provide all the needs of the people and maintain all their industries in spite of the global economic crisis which is presently battled by other regions in the world.
Seeing Germany as a country which plays a great role in the leading the whole European Union in having a full step in the economy. It is obvious that the EU and Germany is both benefiting for regional integration which is optimistically providing both parties helpful ways to prosper in terms of the economy. In addition to this, the whole regions of Europe have already integrated their own form of money as well as the foreign visas are processes to be similar to other countries within the group. Therefore, many of the visitors who are interested of visiting the some countries in Europe, they are not limited to some countries instead they are open to other locations.
For Regional Integration:
In the case of Germany, regional integration has resulted for positive outcomes for the whole region. Based on the economy of Germany, success is what it simply has provided its people and the region. The industries of automobiles, computers and the like are greatly affected by any crisis. As a matter of fact, there are greater investments which are being implemented in Germany. In addition to this, stronger joint ventures in different businesses from different foreign investors in the world as well as those that are members of the group. Therefore, regional groups are beneficial for the economic growth of countries. Due to the benefits of that these groups provide, the assumed developments are attained by many countries. Moreover, exports of goods are easier and much better for contracts to be approved.
Given that regionalism creates a smaller group of countries compared to globalism aspects such as understanding the needs such as physical needs in the environment and the likes are immediately given attention. The similarity of needs and priorities are huge aspects which creates the whole region more intact and parallel. Foreign policy and security of countries within the group are greatly protected. (The EU’s future task, 2009)
Against Regionalism:
On the other hand, regionalism could also impediment the growth of a nation. It is known that these blocs have signed and ratified conditions which must be integrated in to action. Most of the countries in the same region must have the same perspectives and goals which must be followed. There are situations in which a country suddenly had a different priority compared to the whole group such as change in the political perspectives and the likes. Although economic growth is mostly the assumed benefit of attaining regionalism, the downfall of countries that are within the region is also another assumed factor.
In another bloc Mercosur, the downfall of the economy is definitely hitting hard on their countries. Therefore, the only way that each could survive was to 1) “extension to South America, 2) Deepening and institutionalization 3.) And create common currency” (Nogues, 2003). Such actions are not as easy as it may seem. The more difficult aspect is the privatization companies which are not very profitable for the people who are in the lower class of the society. Privatization hinders the people to get enough benefits such as sanitized water, healthcare benefits, and the likes. In the developing and underdeveloped countries, corporations “sometimes” take advantage of the privatizations schemes. Although these companies pledge to provide high quality health care benefits, the investments which they have pored out is also charged to the people. Therefore, the cost of the materials and the services provided by these companies are not attained by the masses but only a few wealthy people.
Conclusion:
Regionalism is an ideology which is made in order to have harmonious relationships and economic growths for different countries in the world. Similar to globalism, there are no known negative aspects at the very start of the ideology. Due to the new concept of regionalism, trial and error seems to be one of the only ways that blocs could realize what changes and development are needed to be done in order to fully function as such.
Therefore, regionalism is an aspect which could be helpful or not helpful for the member countries. Due to different factors of different regions such as Latin America and Europe, regionalism could not assure that such ideology would work. It is only through cooperation that such ideology could be attained.
References
EU’s Future Task. Retrieved on April 13, 200 from http://www.tatsachen-ueber-deutschland.de/en/foreign-policy/main-content-05/the-eus-future-tasks.html
Germany Retrieved on April 13, 2009 from http://europa.eu/abc/european_countries/eu_members/germany/index_en.htm.
Nogues, J. I. (December 2003). Mercosur’s Labyrinth and World Regionalism. Retrieved on April 13, 2009 from http://www.scielo.cl/scielo.php?pid=S0717-68212003012100010&script=sci_arttext.
