-
Theories of Regional Integration
Region is a geographical term that is used in various ways among the different branches of geography. In general, a region is a medium-scale area of land, Earth or water,
smaller than the whole areas of interest (which could be, for example, the world, a nation, a
river basin, mountain range, and so on), and larger than a specific site or location. A region
can be seen as a collection of smaller units (as in "the New England states") or as one part of
a larger whole (as in "the New England region of the United States").
Regions are areas and or the spaces used in the study of geography. A region can be
defined by physical characteristics, human characteristics and functional characteristics. As a way of describing spatial areas, the concept of regions is important and widely used among
the many branches of geography, each of which can describe areas in regional terms. For example, ecoregion is a term used in environmental geography, cultural region in cultural geography, bioregion in Biogeography, and so on. The field of geography that studies regions themselves is called Regional geography.
A region may “reflect the pattern of human settlement, marked by common language,
ethnicity, or culture. A region can also “be an artificial construct, a means of identifying social and economic priorities, which can be best addressed through cooperation across existing
administrative, territorial, or political divisions”.
There are several definitions and it can be applied to the term “region” : Administrative regions – established to promote decentralization.
Economic regions – reflecting special kind of economic structure ( e.g. “Blue Banana”, Silicon Glen in Scotland) or an area designed for a special economic development.…
Essay content topics on: *The phenomenon of regional integration *Region, Regionalisation and Regionalism *Two Waves of Regionalisation in Europe *Participatory Representation *Conclusions *References Regional integration schemes have multiplied in the past few years and the importance of regional groups in trade, money, and politics is increasing dramatically. Regional integration, however, is no new phenomenon. Examples of Staatenbunde, Bundesstaaten, Eidgenossenschaften, leagues, commonwealths, unions, associations, pacts, confederacies, councils and their like are spread throughout history. Many were established for defensive purposes, and not all of them were based on voluntary assent. The first major voluntary regional integration initiatives appeared in the XIX century. In the 1828, for example, Prussia established a customs union with Hesse-Darmstadt. This was followed successively by the Bavaria Wurtemberg Customs Union, the Middle German Commercial Union, the German Zollverein, the North German Tax Union, the German Monetary Union, and finally the German Reich. This wave of integration spilled over into what was to become Switzerland when integrated Swiss market and political union were created in 1848. It also brought economic and political union to Italy to the Risorgimento movement. Integration fever again struck Europe in the last decade of XIX century, when numerous and now long-forgotten projects for European Integration were concocted. In France, Count Paul de Leusse advocated the establishment of a customs union in agriculture between Germany and France, with a common tariffs bureau in Frankfurt ( See Paul e Leusse, “L’Union Douaniere Europeenne,” Revue d’Economie Politique 4 (1890), pp.393-401.). Other countries considered for membership were Belgium, Switzerland, Holland, Austria-Hungary, Italy, and Spain. Half a century later, the idea of European integration was re-invented and the process of the merging European nation-states into one prosperous economy and stable polity began.
