Cover -- Half Title -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Table of Contents -- List of Figures and Tables -- List of Abbreviations -- Notes on Contributors -- Preface -- Acknowledgements -- PART I INTRODUCTORY CHAPTERS -- 1 Regional Integration: Some Introductory Reflections -- 2 Problems and Divides in Comparative Regionalism -- PART II THE EU AND NORTH AMERICA -- 3 The EU in Comparative Perspective: Comparing the EU and NAFTA -- 4 Critical Interpretations of Integration in North America and the European Union: A Comparative Evaluation -- 5 The Present and Future of North American Integration: Similarities and Differences with the European Experience -- 6 The Evolving Labour Relations Dimension of the European Regional System: A Model for North America? -- PART III THE EU, THE AMERICAS AND AFRICA -- 7 MERCOSUR and the European Union: Polities in the Making? -- 8 Why do Latin American Integration Systems Differ from the EU Model? -- 9 Judicial Integration in the Americas?: A Comparison of Dispute Settlement in NAFTA and MERCOSUR -- 10 New Regionalisms Post-Economic Partnership Agreements: What Prospects for Sustainable Development in Africa and the Caribbean? -- PART IV THE EU, ASIA AND THE PACIFIC -- 11 From AFTA to ASEAN Economic Community - Is ASEAN Moving Towards EU-style Economic Integration? -- 12 China and the East Asian Regional Process -- PART V CONCLUDING CHAPTER -- 13 Requirements for Regional Integration: A Comparative Perspective on the EU, the Americas and East Asia -- Index.

This book includes up-to-date studies of regional integration efforts in all major parts of the world, especially North America, South America and East Asia. In many cases these efforts are compared with the EU, where integration has progressed much further. Some important questions are asked: What explains the variation in achievements? What kind of agreements and institutions are needed to produce regional integration? Is 'pooling and delegation' of sovereignty necessary to overcome 'collective action problems'? How important is regional leadership? Various schools of thought are represented in the book, so different approaches are used and diverse conclusions arrived at. It appears that great power asymmetries in a region can make integration difficult if a dominant state is not willing to accept a relatively complete contract - as the United States was in the case of NAFTA - or accept supranational institutions. The acceptance of supranational institutions in Europe was facilitated by the relative symmetry among the core group of larger states, including France and Germany. In South America or East Asia, such symmetry did not exist and the dominant states - like Brazil in the case of MERCOSUR - were not willing to bind their hands through complete contracts or supranational institutions.This book is a major new contribution to the literature on regional integration. The book should appeal to theorists, policymakers, students and other readers concerned about world developments. It will also serve a place on courses covering international political economy, international relations and regional integration, at both undergraduate and graduate levels.

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Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, Michigan : ProQuest Ebook Central, 2018. Available via World Wide Web. Access may be limited to ProQuest Ebook Central affiliated libraries.