![Sample our Area Studies journals, sign in here to start your access, latest two full volumes FREE to you for 14 days]({"type":"image" , "src" : "/sda/5922/TOC-Subject-Sample-2021-Area-Studies.jpg"})
Abstract
While the New Regionalism Theory (NRT), as propounded by Hettne and Soderbaum, tries to address the ambiguities associated with regionalism by taking an interdisciplinary approach, the authors seem to downplay the role of geography in the phenomenon and highlight social processes as the main defining feature of the trend. Furthermore, although they acknowledge the importance of the regional space in the study of regionalism, they seem to point to the notion that this space transcends regional contiguity. This article is a review of the NRT and argues that the new regionalism should be seen in the light of interactions characterised by geographic contiguity and limited by geographic boundaries within a continent. The article illustrates the importance of geography and geographic contiguity over social processes by making reference to the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA), the enlargement of the European Union (EU) as well as the African Union (AU) and the continent-wide economic and political framework proposed in the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) as the modus operandi of the new regionalism.
Notes
1. Panagariya Citation(1998) argues that ‘Regional Trade Arrangement’ and ‘Regional Integration Arrangements’ are poor substitutes for either PTA (Preferential Trade Arrangements) or RA (Regional Arrangements). The qualifier ‘regional’, in terms such as RA, RTA and RIA, should be interpreted to mean that the membership falls short of all countries on the globe without any implication that it is concentrated in a specific geographical region of the world.
2. Established in 1974, the FLS focused on decolonisation and ending minority regimes in the former Rhodesia, South West Africa and South Africa. Its members included Angola, Botswana, Mozambique, Namibia, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. For more information, visit ‘The Legacy of the Front-line States’ Monograph No 43: Building Security in Southern Africa, November 1999, < www.iss.co.za/Pubs/Monographs/No43/TheLegacy.html >
3. Established in Lusaka in 1980, the SADCC is the predecessor of the SADC; its aim was to reduce members' economic dependence, mainly on the Republic of South Africa, and to promote development. Its primary activities involved the coordination of members' development initiatives and assistance in raising donor funds for projects