Free Trade Agreement of the Americas

Regionalism and regionalization are the buzzwords of the 21st century. Often used interchangeably, each refers to a different phenomenon. Regionalism is used to refer to an ideology or a political, economic, or social project targeting a specific region, with the highest goal of uniting the region, according to Andrew Hurrell, Helge Hveem, and A. Panagariya. The most advanced example of regionalism is the European integration project. The success of the European Union led other regions to follow suit. Today there are about 60 regional organizations according to the Regional Integration Knowledge System of the United Nations, but not all of them qualify as an instance of regionalism. Regionalization, on the other hand, cannot be mentioned without reference to globalization. The debate continues over the relationship ...