Interdependence between economic and political integration: the Southeast Asian and European regions

Abstract

Nation, nation-state, region, world IT is obvious that the end of the Cold War era is causing major global realignments amongst various nations, nation-states and regions, and that there is a fluidity to our present historical moment which is as exhilarating as it is bewildering. Indeed, we can now bracket the post-World War II era, and analyse it from the perspective of an end (1991) as well as a beginning (1945). I would like, in this presentation, to introduce and elaborate what I feel to be three key elements in the Southeast Asian and European experiences of this post-World War II era which are germaine to our discussion today, and also to offer some speculations as to how these elements will evolve in the near future. The three key elements are: first, the evolution of regional dynamics; second, the interplay between centripedal and centrifugal forces; and third, the linkage of regional economic and political integration.