Asian Regionalism

Asian Regionalism is one of the midterm lessons in The Contemporary World - a subject of the New General Education Curriculum for the Higher Education Institutions in the Philippines.

This topic, Asian Regionalism, focuses on the following objectives:
a. Define Asian Regionalism;
b. Differentiate between regionalization and globalization; and
c. Analyze how different Asian states confront the challenges of regionalization and globalization.

The following are key terms associated with Asian Regionalism:
1. Regionalization is the process of dividing an area into smaller segments called regions.
2. Region. Regions are groups of countries located in the same geographical area. For example, Japan, China, Indonesia, and the Philippines are located within the geographical area of Asia which is also considered a region aside from being the largest and most diverse continent in the world. Among Asia, the other seven officially recognized regions of the world are: Africa, the Caribbean, Central America, Europe, North America, Oceania, and South America.
3. Regionalism is defined as a political ideology that favors a specific region over a greater area. Meaning to say, it mostly focuses on regions since they are smaller compared to larger areas. Because of this, regionalism usually results in political separations, religious geography, cultural boundaries, linguistic regions, and managerial divisions.

Why do countries form regional organizations?
They form regional organizations to cope with the challenges of globalization.

4. Globalization is a process by which people are unified into a single society and function together. It is the process by which businesses or other organizations develop international influence or start operating on an international scale.

DIFFERENCES OF REGIONALIZATION & GLOBALIZATION

1. NATURE
Globalization promoted the integration of economies across state borders all around the world while Regionalization divides an area into smaller regions.

2. MARKET
Globalization allows many corporations to trade on an international level; it allows a free market. What is a free market? A free market is an unregulated system of economic exchange that requires no tariffs or just minimal. A tariff is a tax imposed by one country on imported goods and services from another country.

In regionalization, monopolies are more likely to develop. Monopoly means one producer controls the supply of goods or services, and where the entry of new producers is prevented or highly restricted.

3. CULTURAL & SOCIETAL RELATIONS
Globalization accelerates multiculturalism through the free and inexpensive movement of people while regionalization does not support multiculturalism.

Multiculturalism – is the view that cultures, races, and ethnicities, particularly those of minority groups, deserve special acknowledgment of their differences within a dominant political culture. It is a situation in which all the different cultural or racial groups in society have equal rights and opportunities, and none is ignored or regarded as unimportant.

4. AID
Globalized international communities are more willing to aid countries stricken by disasters while in regionalization, an area does not get involved in the affairs of other areas.

5. TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCE
Globalization has driven great advances in technology. In regionalism, advanced technology is rarely available in one country or region.

WHY DO COUNTRIES FORM REGIONAL ASSOCIATIONS?

1. Military Defense – the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was formed to protect Europe from the threat of the Soviet Union; and as a response, the Soviet Union created the Warsaw Pact.

Warsaw Pact – formally known as the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance, which was established as a balance of power or counterweight to NATO.

2. Economic Crisis – the ASEAN countries along with China, Japan, and South Korea established an emergency fund that stabilized Asian economies after the rippling effect of the Thai economy's collapse.

3. Resources – countries need to pool their resources together to make themselves more powerful. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) rose in power when they took over domestic production and controlled crude oil prices across the globe.

ASIAN REGIONALISM is the product of economic interaction, not political planning. As a result of successful, outward-oriented growth strategies, Asian economies have grown not only richer but also closer together.

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