globalization, regional integration and human rights
TRANSCRIPT
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The Challenge of Globalization, European Union Regional Integration and its Implications
on Human Rights
Introduction
The end of the Cold War and the subsequent end of the politico-ideological conflict
between American democracy and Soviet socialism led to increased attention being paid on two
phenomena: “globalization and regional integration” (Janowski 2006, p.3). Globalization and
regional integration were not new phenomena at that point in time, but they were observed to
have intensified in the post-Cold War period. According to scholars, this intensification took
place because after the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Iron Curtain and the Bamboo Curtain, “two
conflicting desires appeared…the wish to create a world free of barriers…and the desire to
cooperate with neighboring countries on the other” (Janowski 2006, p.4). Consequently,
globalization and regional integration intensified as processes. This reality was reflected in the
example of the countries that were members of the European Community, which deepened
regional integration in the post-Cold War era through the “Maastricht Treaty on [the] European
Union (1993), and the Amsterdam Treaty (1999)” (Tsebelis and Garrett 2001, p.357).
The intensification of European Union regional integration had a number of implications
on the human rights regime of the EU. As such, this paper aims to explore the connection
between the two phenomena of globalization and regional integration in the EU and how it has
affected, and has been affected by the Union’s internal human rights regime. This will be done
by examining three main questions. First of all, what are the phenomena of regional integration
and globalization, and how are they manifested? Secondly, what is the relationship between
globalization and regional integration? And thirdly, how has the relationship between
globalization and regional integration in the EU affected the internal governance of the regional
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arrangement? The implications of the relationship between globalization and regional integration
in the European Union will then be explored with regard to the issue of human rights.
What are the phenomena of regionalism and globalization, and how are they manifested?
As was mentioned, earlier, regionalism and globalization are processes that intensified
after the fall of the Soviet Union. Looking at the two phenomena, one finds that they actually
exist on two levels of reality. Regionalism exists on the level of nation-states that occupy a
specific geographic area, and is therefore more limited in scope compared to globalization,
which exists on a global level, affecting multiple levels of reality alike. For that reason, it
appears more prudent to begin by discussing the phenomenon of globalization.
Scholars have produced a plethora of literature in order to define and illustrate
globalization, but an exhaustive survey of the said literature would be beyond the scope of the
paper. A sufficiently descriptive survey may be found in the work of Jacques Gelinas in his
article entitled “Juggernaut Politics. Understanding Predatory Globalization”, which describes
globalization as a “system”, a “process”, an “ideology” and, perhaps, an “alibi” (Gelinas 2003).
First of all, globalization is a system because it entails the “total control of the world by powerful
supranational economic interests” (Gelinas 2003). This is the reason, for example, that
multinational corporations have grown in power. The ability of multinational corporations such
as Nike, Sony or Citibank to move their business to wherever government policies are most
conducive to them makes it so that they have a great deal of influence over governments because
of their ability to simply terminate relationships. The growth of multinational corporations has
been facilitated by developments in technology, which have allowed for much more rapid and
instantaneous transactions and communication across the globe. This concept is captured by
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David Harvey (1997) in terms of “time-space compression” (Harvey 1997, p.260), or the
shrinking of the world through trade liberalization and very likely technological developments,
such as the internet, which have led to increasing speed of transactions and relations across the
globe. Time-space compression is said to have led to “a shift away from the consumption of
goods and into the consumption of services” (Harvey 1997, p.285). It is this notion of time-space
compression that has allowed globalization as a system to flourish as it has done.
Apart from being a system, globalization has also been described as a process. Given that
the global capitalist system is currently viewed as the hegemon of the globalized system, the
logic of capitalism has also become a central process to the system. As a result, globalization
implies the constant restructuring, rationalizing and re-engineering of multinational companies in
order to increase capital accumulation. Consequently, developing countries have to adapt to the
processes of the new global hegemons; the multinational companies (Gelinas 2003). Related to
this is the idea that globalization is also said to be an ideology. In other words, it is a discourse
aimed at rationalizing and explaining the world according to the worldview of those who hold
power. This means that neo-liberal ideas have also gained a hegemonic position in the realm of
the ideational.
Related to the hegemony of multinational companies and neo-liberal ideas is the
intensification of tribalism. In his book entitled Jihad Versus McWorld (2006), Benjamin Barber
discusses how the dual phenomena of Jihad and McWorld, which stem from globalization, are
eroding the ability of nation-states to perform their functions. The phenomenon of McWorld
refers to the growth and rise in position of multinational companies, which was discussed earlier.
The phenomenon Barber referred to as Jihad, however, refers to what is more commonly referred
to as “tribalism”. That is, the rise of intense ethnic and religious nationalism that threatens to
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erode the nation-state from below. This idea was also briefly discussed in the work of Paul James
(2006) in his work entitled “Globalism, Nationalism, Tribalism. Bringing Theory Back In”. The
effect of the phenomenon of tribalism is that sub-national groups are invoking their intense
nationality to break away from the nation-state, as in the case of the Basques in Spain.
Globalization, therefore, has the effect of eroding the sovereign capabilities of the nation-state,
either at the supra-state level or the sub-state level.
Finally, returning to Gelinas’ article, globalization was equated with being an alibi.
Globalization has been invoked by economic and political elites of various nation-states as an
excuse to escape from their social and environmental responsibilities. Anti-globalization rhetoric
has been used by leaders of various developing countries as an excuse for their lack of economic
development, despite the fact that their regimes have been accused of corruption and poor
governance. Globalization has become the scapegoat for their shortcomings. Hence, one
observes that globalization has been a phenomenon that has been highly politicized. It has been
truly detrimental for some groups, such as the poor of the developing world, but at the same
time, it has been beneficial for some stakeholders, such as multinational corporations. What is
clear, however, is that globalization has been used for various political ends by various groups,
and has the effect of altering states’ “options for actions in core questions of domestic policy as
well as…the economy or foreign political relations” (Janowski 2006,p.16).
Having discussed globalization, which is the first phenomenon, it is now possible to
discuss regionalism, the second phenomenon. Regionalism, or regional integration, is essentially
a form of intergovernmentalism, but it is one that is confined within a specific geographic region.
Ramesh and van Langenhove (2006) provide a general definition of regional integration,
describing it as “a process in which a group of…countries moves from a condition of partial or
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utter isolation toward one of partial or complete manifestation” (Ramesh and van Langenhove
2006, p.233). It has also been said that “the process of regional integration goes along with a
momentum of consolidation, determination and the pooling of common interests. The level of
integration may range from a loose cooperation to a pooling of national sovereignty” (Janowski
2006, p.20). A loose regional cooperation may be seen in the case of APEC, while a pooling of
national sovereignty is what exists in the European Union; arguably the most sophisticated
regional arrangement that currently exists.
Theorizing about regional integration has yielded five differing degrees of regional
integration:
“On a first degree of rather natural ‘regionness’, the region appears as acoincidental geographical unit. On this basic level, regionalism does not
require any kind of human interaction. The region simply exists by naturally
given factors. As soon as states interact, regions reach a second degree of
regionalism. Mere geographic units turn into social entities that foster trans-
national exchange…Regular political, economic, or military interactions are
features of a third degree of regional integration…Once a broad intraregional
communication starts that includes actors of the civil society, a fourth degree
of region has been reached…On the fifth and highest degree, regional entitiesact as subjects with an own identity, actor capability as well as structures that
allow region-wide decision-making” (Janowski 2006, p.20).
Using the typologies described above, one finds that various regional arrangements would fit into
each of the aforementioned categories. The first degree of regionalism characterizes regions that
have little or no integration whatsoever, such as Northeast Asia or the Middle East. The second
degree of regionalism is exemplified by the Asia-Europe Meetings (ASEM). APEC is an
example of the third degree of regionalism, where regular meetings take place, but only
government elites are involved in the integration process. The fourth degree of integration is
exemplified by ASEAN, which has regular meetings that involves civil society as well. The fifth
and highest degree exists in the guise of the European Union alone, and as such, it remains to be
a regional arrangement sui generis.
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Regionalism is therefore a very complex process. It exists in many guises, but it is limited
in terms of geography as well as in terms of actors. Having briefly discussed globalization and
regionalism, it is now possible to explore the relationship between the two phenomena.
What is the relationship between globalization and regionalism?
According to scholars of regional integration and globalization, “whether we agree to
more positive or rather skeptical positions on globalization, it is assumable that globalization and
regional integration are related issues” (Janowski 2006, p.18). The relationship between the two
phenomena has been interpreted in a number of ways. The fact that they are parallel phenomena,
however, appears to be widely accepted for the most part. For example, in the work of James
Rosenau (1999), there is a call for an understanding of global politics that goes beyond
considering solely the agency of nation-states due to their possession of sovereignty in the face
of globalizing forces. In the article, Rosenau (1999) states that
“states retain their sovereign rights, but the realms within which these rights can
be exercised has diminished as the world becomes ever more interdependent and
as state boundaries become ever more porous. With the increasing diffusion of authority, states can no longer rely on their sovereignty as a basis for protecting
their interests in the face of increasingly complex challenges” (Rosenau 1999, p.292).
States are therefore less capable to unilaterally exercise their sovereignty as a result of
globalizing forces, which result in events taking place “through, over, and around the long-
established boundaries of states” (Rosenau 1999, p.293). Consequently, states have had to adapt
with globalizing forces by relocating the exercises of their “authority upwards to transnational
and supranational organizations, sidewards to social movements and NGOs, and downwards
towards subnational groups” (Rosenau 1999, p.293). As a result, Rosenau’s (1999)
understanding of global politics is one that is not “dominated by states and national governments,
[instead] the new ontology builds on the premise that the world is comprised of spheres of
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authority (SOAs)” (Rosenau 1999, p.294). One example that may be cited with regard to the
notion of SOAs is the case of the European Union, which has configured itself in terms of a
region, with authority relocated upwards toward supranational authorities. This has entailed the
experience of the phenomenon of regional integration, thereby indicating the fact that at the very
least, using Rosenau’s (1999) framework, regional integration is a phenomenon that appears
alongside the phenomenon of globalization.
Others scholars, however, have come to understand the relationship between regional
integration and globalization in a more clearly defined manner, particularly as it is seen in the
case of the European Union. The regional integration scholar Ludger Kühnhardt, for example,
says that the relationship between globalization and regional integration may be characterized in
two words: challenge and response (Kühnhardt 2006). Regional integration has been described
as a response to the challenge that is globalization. This coincides with the widely-held belief
that regional integration among nation-states is a type of coping mechanism in order to shield
themselves from the negative effects of globalization. The essence of this sentiment was captured
in a political cartoon in the French newspaper Le Monde. Therein, one finds a picture of the
former French President Jacques Chirac warding off a tiger that is symbolic of globalization. In
his right hand, he is holding the spear of “France”, while in his left hand; he is holding a shield
representing the “European Union”. Hence, in this illustration, one finds the idea of a regional
arrangement acting as a response, a figurative shield, against globalization.
Ludger Kühnhardt, in one of his articles, succinctly discussed regional integration and
globalization in terms of challenge and response. This is a twist on the theory of historian Arnold
Toynbee. Using the example of the European Union, Kühnhardt discussed how, historically, the
European Union’s integration coincided with crises that affected the countries of the region. For
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example, the recognized first step towards regional integration in Europe, the European Coal and
Steel Commission (ECSC), came about as a result of the destruction “of Europe in two wars”
(Kühnhardt 2006, p.5). Furthermore, “it is interesting to note…that the most important crises and
turning points in European integration have been linked…to fundamental developments and
adaptation crises in transatlantic relations” (Kühnhardt 2006, p.15). It is due to the
aforementioned facts that Kühnhardt is able to conclude that regional integration is indeed a
response to challenges that arise.
Shifting Kühnhardt’s theory onto the world of the present, one finds that regional
integration has also taken place in Europe in response to the challenge of globalization. The
formation of regional intergovernmental organizations has come about as a result of such factors
as the need to increase the economic policy implementation of states beyond their individual
borders, and the need to guarantee peace and security in the region. Each of the abovementioned
factors may be observed in the regional arrangement that has developed through the European
Union.
The first, and perhaps most common, factor for the formation of regional
intergovernmental organizations is the need to exercise sovereignty beyond state borders in terms
of economic or financial policies. Historically speaking, it is for economic reasons that the
ECSC, the predecessor of the EU, was formed. By adopting a uniform set of rules and stands in a
regional arrangement, such as what has occurred in the European Union, individual states are
able to impose norms “under the umbrella of a scheme of pooled sovereignty” (Kühnhardt 2005,
p.17). On the one hand, this allows for greater state control over increasingly mobile
multinational companies, while at the same time, individual states’ economies are able to benefit
through preferential trade agreements that facilitate the transfer of goods, services, people and
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capital across, what were once, solid state boundaries, as in the case of the European common
market. Furthermore, by forming an economic regional partnership, individual states are able to
create a unified voice in international economic fora, thus increasing their bargaining efficacy.
The factors mentioned above may be seen to allow states to increase their capacities beyond
individual boundaries.
It has been said, however, that although “region building might begin with a free trade
agreement…a free trade agreement does not preclude the development towards more
comprehensive schemes of…integration” (Kühnhardt 2005, p.30). A political will to look
beyond national identities, and towards a common destiny, is needed in order for regional
integration to succeed. It is in this way that the member states of the European Union have
maintained peace and security in the region, despite having been at war form most of their
history. It was said that “shortly after the horrendous World War II…mistrust and cultural
suspicion were as prevailing in Europe as the hope to overcome the deadly vicious circle of
antagonistic and clashing nationalism” (Kühnhardt 2005, p.19). As such, “it turned out to be
right and far-sighted to begin European integration…because at the end, it also transformed
cultural relations in Europe” (Kühnhardt 2005, p.19). As a result of EU integration, there has
been a “mutual recognition of cultural diversity…based on the understanding that European
integration is a process toward a common political identity without undermining the cultural
diversity of its people” (Kühnhardt 2005, p.19). Furthermore, by recognizing diversity, the EU is
able to create an identity that is not tied to the erosion of the sovereignty of the state; namely a
“European political identity” (Kühnhardt 2005, p.19) thereby allowing it to cope with
globalization’s tendency towards increased tribalism.
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In the case of the European Union, therefore, a combination of political will and
recognition of cultural diversity stimulated by regional economic cooperation has been the base
upon which the European Union developed. And looking at the depth to which the EU has been
able to integrate, one may say that the strategy of regional integration has been a successful
coping mechanism with the general phenomenon that is globalization.
How has the relationship between globalization and regional integration in the EU affected the
internal governance of the regional arrangement?
Typologies of regional integration have been attempted, and one form of typology was
discussed earlier in the paper, with various regional arrangements being classified depending on
the strength of the integration among member nations. Naturally, the top example in the
integration hierarchy is that of the European Union, with all other forms of regional integration
falling under lesser forms of integration. Given that there are various forms of regional
integration in existence, what is significant to discuss in this paper are the forms of governance
that take place within a regional arrangement, and consequently, the factors that need to be
considered by nation-states when becoming a part of a regional arrangement. Given that a state
has decided to apply the strategy of regional integration to cope with globalization, the question
then is: what strategies do nation-states employ within a regional arrangement in order for them
to be able to achieve their individual and collective goals as member states of a regionally
integrated entity?
Drawing from the works of scholars that have studied the internal governance of regional
integration, one finds that there are two main debates on strategies that have been discussed
within regional arrangements. First of all, there is the debate of “intergovernmentalism versus
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supranationalism” (Tsebelis and Garrett, 2006). Second of all, there is the debate on “unanimity
versus majority” in making collective decisions. By adopting one and not another, a regional
arrangement indicates the conviction of its member states to the regional entity and the extent to
which individual member states are willing to sacrifice individual state goals for the regional
collective.
The debate of “intergovernmentalism versus supranationalism” is a somewhat technical
debate that is very one-sided when one looks at the examples of regional arrangements in the
world. Essentially, the debate on intergovernmentalism and supranationalism straddles the
balance between individual state will and collective will. When scholars of regional integration
speak of the term “supranationalism”, they are not simply referring to an entity that is above the
state. Instead, when “supranationalism” is used, it refers to a regional organization wherein an
entity is able to make binding decisions on individual member states without the consent of those
member states, and where individual states face harsh sanctions should they not abide to the rules
of the supranational entity (Tsebelis and Garrett, 2006). As such, there is a surrender of
sovereignty in supranational entities. “Intergovernmentalism”, for its part, refers simply to states
agreeing to cooperate and discuss with one another on one or more issue (Tsebelis and Garrett,
2006). Compared to regional arrangements in the rest of the world, the European Union is the
only one that has applied supranationalism, and even so, only to policies and issues under the
jurisdiction of its supranational institutions: “the Commission of the European Communities, the
European Court of Justice, and the European Parliament” (Tsebelis and Garrett 2006, p.357).
Other issues, such as foreign and security policy and justice and home affairs, the so-called
second and third pillars of the EU, remain under intergovernmental governance.
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Related to the debate between regional governance through intergovernmentalism and
supranationalism is the debate between unanimity and majority in decision-making. Like the
earlier debate, this debate implies the amount of trust that exists between member states and the
extent to which states are willing to surrender a part of their sovereignty in order for the regional
arrangement to be more effective. When one refers to unanimity and majority, one refers to the
voting and decision-making processes that exist in a regional arrangement. Regional
arrangements have been observed to become hindered as a result of their internal decision-
making processes. Within the EU, unanimity is maintained under issues governed by
intergovernmentalism, while majority voting is applied to issues of supranationalism. It has been
found that “unanimity voting has two effects…On the one hand, it respects the sovereignty of
individual member states. On the other hand, it cripples the…collective actor” (Tsebelis and
Garrett 2006, p.370). Majority voting, for its part has “’unblocked’ collective decision making”
(Tsebelis and Garrett 2006, p.370). The majority of regional arrangements apply a unanimity
form of decision-making and as such, a consensus needs to be reached between individual
member states in order for a decision to be made. Therefore, it may be observed that among the
regional arrangements that exist in the world, the European Union is unique in that its
governance is efficient and individual member states actually defer to the decisions of the
supranational entities.
Looking at the two debates of intergovernmentalism and supranationalism, and unanimity
voting and majority voting, one finds that political will plays a major role in the development of
a regional arrangement. The political will of individual member states to support the integration
process and the regional arrangement plays a major role in the strength of a regional arrangement
as a mechanism for individual states to cope with globalization.
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Regional integration and its implications on human rights in the EU
The political will of member states has not just been significant to regional integration,
however. The application of a state’s political will is also essential to the issue of human rights,
to which the European Union is deeply committed. In the history of human rights discourse, one
finds that the continent of Europe has been a particularly significant contributor to the field.
Philosophers from various European countries such as Cicero, Thomas Aquinas, Jean Jacques
Rousseau and Immanuel Kant have all contributed to the idea of human rights (Weiss and
Collins 1996).
Looking at the effect that Europe has had on the development of human rights, therefore,
it is not surprising that Europe has “experienced the most sophisticated codification,
institutionalization and operationalization of humanitarian action” (Weiss and Collins 1996,
p.24). Consequently, vestiges of human rights discourse can be found in the domestic and
foreign policies of individual European states, as well as in the documents that form the acquis
communautaire, or the basic law, of the European Union. For example, in Article 6(1) of the
Treaty of Amsterdam, one of the main treaties of the EU, one finds the statement that “The
Union is founded on the principles of liberty, democracy, respect for human rights and
fundamental freedoms, and the rule of law, which are common to Member States” (Nowak 1999,
p.689).
Despite this commitment, however, it has been noticed that human rights, like the state
sovereignty to which it is tied, has been under siege as a result of the phenomenon of
globalization. Recalling the earlier discussion, which made references to the phenomena of
“Jihad and McWorld” (Barber 1996), one finds that the diminution of state capacity that results
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from globalization-induced Jihad and McWorld not only weakens the state apparatus itself, it
also weakens the state’s capacity to protect its citizens. This prompted Barber to state in his book
that the, “question then becomes whether Jihad and/or McWorld can themselves promise to
safeguard common liberty” (Barber, 1996 p.231), because if the state cannot protect its citizens,
then who is left to protect them?
The EU appears to have responded to this siege of state sovereignty and protection of
human rights by incorporating human rights into the European Union’s policies and institutions.
This is seen, for example, in the Union’s accession policy, trade policy and foreign policy. With
regard to accession policy, criteria have been established in order to prevent countries suspected
of human rights violations from joining the European Union. In June 1993, the European Council
established the Copenhagen Criteria requiring candidate countries trying to enter the EU to have
achieved “stability of institutions guaranteeing democracy, the rule of law, human rights and
respect for and protection of minorities” (Nowak 1999, p.691). In so doing, the European Union
member states reinforce their commitment to human rights while at the same time extending the
human rights regime to candidate countries wishing to enter the EU.
With regard to trade policy, the European Union has somehow begun to link trade
preferences with human rights in such a way that there is a “conditionality of trade preferences…
on respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms…such as the principle of democracy and
political rights and freedoms” (Brandtner and Rosas 1999, p.699). The discussion with regard to
this aspect of EU trade policy and human rights has been described as having a “carrot and stick”
dualism (Brandtner and Rosas 1999, p.721), with states known to violate human rights, such as
Myanmar and the former Yugoslavia being penalized, and states trying to establish human rights
regimes being assisted through such measures as preferential trade agreements.
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A third policy area where human rights have become significant is the area of EU foreign
policy. Since the conception of the idea of a European Union Common Foreign and Security
Policy in the 1992 Treaty of Maastricht, the common EU foreign policy sought “to develop and
consolidate democracy and the rule of law, and respect for human rights and fundamental
freedoms” (Clapham, 1999 p.634). This clause was repeated in the subsequent treaties of
Amsterdam and Nice, which consolidated the EU foreign policy as a significant pillar of the EU.
As a result of this politico-legal structure created for the EU common foreign policy, the Union
has given human rights a privileged position in the way that foreign policy has been conducted.
Whether or not the EU promotes human rights in its external relations to contribute to the
universalization of human rights is beyond the scope of this paper, however, the point that the
institutionalization of human rights is significant to the creation of an identity of the EU is
discussed later.
The European Union upholding the value of human rights as universally accessible is
seen in that Member States of the EU now “take account of persons qua persons, rather than qua
citizens. The individual is now an object of law and a site for rights regardless of whether a
citizen or alien” (Sassen 1998, p.23). Judicial institutions on a national level initiated the
movement towards respecting the human rights of non-citizens. Taking their cue from the courts
at the national level, the European Court of Justice, which acted on a supra-state level, “inferred
rights…[on non-citizens] in defiance of the interests of powerful member-states” (Guiraudon
2000, p.1114). “In this sense, the building blocks had been laid at the national level to be
reasserted internationally, strengthening the chances that the norms would diffuse downwards
again” (Guiraudon 2000, p.1114). The European Union has therefore made deliberate advances
to promote and protect human rights both on the level of individual member states, as well as on
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the supra-state level, thereby consolidating an EU human rights regime through regional
integration.
Given the fact that the EU has institutionalized human rights norms into many of its
policies, one has to consider the reasons why it has been so adamant in applying human rights
norms when it could have possibly done without them. Possible explanations to this question are
perhaps more clearly seen when the question is considered in light of the EU’s neighboring states
that are proximate to it. Furthermore, a discussion of this question would necessarily entail an
examination of the contribution of human rights to European regional integration. In other
words, what do human rights contribute to regional integration in the EU such that the EU would
strongly defend them in their policies?
In general, one may say that the EU continues to adamantly include human rights in their
policies because it is a significant part of their identity; it creates a basis for commonalities to
appear among the various member nations. Human rights, therefore, contribute on the more
abstract level of identity, and have been observed as instrumental in deepening the integration
between EU Member States. In the article by Kühnhardt (2005), it is said that a common political
regime and comparable values,, are significant for a regional arrangement to succeed through the
creation of similarities among nation-states. Citing the regime differences that exist in Northeast
Asia, for example, Kühnhardt poses the question “how can one expect shared destiny under the
umbrella of a scheme of pooled sovereignty as long as the political systems and their underlying
political culture are so fundamentally different?” (Kühnhardt 2005, p.17) Deploying his ideas to
the case of the member states that exist in the EU, the respect of human rights is a precondition
to entering the EU because such a criterion would compel applicant countries to become
relatively homogeneous in terms of political regime and cultural values when viewed alongside
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current members of the EU. This may be likened to Thomas Diez’ (2001) notion of “Euro-
speak”, which refers to language, which “defines the space for political action within the EU”
(Diez 2001, p.91). Therefore, by including discourses of human rights in “Euro-speak”, one is
able to develop spaces of commonality among members of a regional arrangement. The inclusion
of human rights in its policies and institutions, such as the CFSP and the ECJ, may thereby be
seen as a consequence of human rights in “Euro-speak” embodied since “institutions cannot be
separated from the discourse they are embedded in” (Diez 2001, p.97).
A relatively homogeneous group of member states, such as those who engage in the
language of Europe, has also been equated with “political trust and commonly binding legal
norms” (Kühnhardt 2005, p.40), which are factors that have been observed to have contributed to
the success and stability of the European Union as a regional arrangement. It is this fact that
prompted Kühnhardt (2005), in his article, to comment that during the Cold War era, although
there were cultural similarities between “Poland and Portugal, Hungary and Ireland, Sweden and
Slovakia, it would have been inconceivable for the European Community to recognize any
Central and Eastern communist state as its member in the absence of democracy, rule of law and
market economy”. Therefore, such human rights criteria contribute to the stability and continued
existence of the regional arrangement that is the EU by creating similarities of discourse between
member and applicant countries. Given the fact that similarities in political regime norms and
values are viewed as significant to stability and action in a regional arrangement, it is therefore
not surprising that “recognition of rule of law, democratic governance and a primacy for human
rights…[have become] preconditions to substantial integration” (Kühnhardt 2005, p.36);
particularly in the case of the European Union.
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Conclusion
Having explored the interrelationships between globalization, regional integration and
human rights in the European Union, a number of conclusions may be drawn. First of all, it was
mentioned at the onset that regional integration and globalization have intensified as phenomena
in the post-Cold War period, and have therefore become of concern to states, including those that
were members of the European Community. Secondly, as was discussed, globalization has had
the effect of eroding states’ abilities to exercise their sovereignty. This has entailed, first of all, a
reconfiguration of the way that global politics is understood and done. Secondly, forces of
globalization have been seen in terms a challenge to which regional integration has been a
response, particularly in the case of the European Union. Thirdly, political trust and political will
have been significant factors with regard to the governance, and resulting efficacy of regional
arrangements to react to global forces; the strength of the European Union may partly be
attributed to its supranational structure and majority voting governance. And finally, the
phenomena of globalization and regional integration in the EU have affected, and been affected
by, human rights. On the one hand, the EU has institutionalized human rights norms in a number
of its policies, perhaps in an attempt to contribute to the universalization of human rights. On the
other hand, as was discussed earlier, human rights norms have been used as criteria to ensure
relative homogeneity in terms of political regimes and values, particularly to EU applicant
countries. This then indicates a mutually strengthening relationship between regional integration
and human rights in the structure of the European Union.
Despite the apparent relationship between the European Union’s regional integration and
its human rights regime, however, increased exploration may still be done on the relationship
between the two phenomena. This would be particularly timely in light of attempts by the
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Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to deepen its integration. To what extent
would the recognition of human rights, or the lack thereof, be an issue for the future stability of
the regional arrangement? And what are the possible consequences of the relatively
heterogeneous political regimes and values that exist in ASEAN to further deepening of the
regional integration? These are questions that need to be taken into account and discussed given
that plans are in place to further institutionalize the regional arrangement of Southeast Asia of
which the Philippines is part.
Manuel Enverga IIIEuropean Studies Program
Ateneo de Manila University
e-mail: [email protected]
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