Democracy Through Regional Integration

Regional integration systems are becoming increasingly important. This book analyses how regional integration systems all over the world might be able to act as defenders or promoters of democracy, rule of law and the respect for human rights among their members.

Combining normative analysis and theory-driven empirical research in a comparative framework, this volume clarifies and explains the connections between regional international governance, legitimacy and democracy. It focuses on the quality of democracy and the legitimacy of policy making in multilevel regional systems. The volume offers a much-needed clarification of confusing concepts such as legitimacy, democracy and 'civil society' in non-national political systems. It critically assesses the quality of democracy and legitimacy within different Regional International Organizations (RIOs); it examines how networks of non-state actors become a kind of transnational civil society and assesses their potential for solving legitimacy deficits; and it investigates the impact of democratic conditionality in different RIOs. The contributors deepen our understanding of a relatively new non-state actor on the international scene - the regional international organization - and investigate the potential contribution of transnational non-state actors to the quality of governance at the regional level.

" Assessing the potential benefits and risks of a currency union Leaders of the fifteen-member Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) have set a goal of achieving a monetary and currency union by late 2020. Although some progress has been made toward achieving this ambitious goal, major challenges remain if the region is to realize the necessary macroeconomic convergence and establish the required institutional framework in a relatively short period of time. The proposed union offers many potential benefits, especially for countries with historically high inflation rates and weak central banks. But, as implementation of the euro over the past two decades has shown, folding multiple currencies, representing disparate economies, into a common union comes with significant costs, along with operational challenges and transitional risks. All these potential negatives must be considered carefully by ECOWAS leaders seeking tomeet a self-imposed deadline. This book, by two leading experts on economics and Africa, makes a significant analytical contribution to the debates now under way about how ECOWAS could achieve and manage its currency union, andthe ramifications for the African continent. "

How effective are democracy clauses of regional integration organizations (RIOs) in promoting democratization and democratic consolidation among member-states? RIOs are increasingly adopting "democracy only" clauses in their treaties, requiring democracy and political stability as a condition of membership. Stable democracy is a collective good for RIO members; without political stability, uncertainty regarding economic exchange increases, undermining the promise of integration. The presence of powerful countries may be necessary for the RIOs to legalize democratic conditionality. In this book, the authors argue that once established democracy clauses exert an independent influence in promoting and defending democratic norms and institutions within the member-states by increasing the transparency and credibility of democratic commitment and sanctions for violation. The findings based on the analysis of 40 RIOs around the world and in-depth analysis of the European Union, the Common Market of the South, and the Economic Community of West African States indicate that RIO democracy clauses help prevent democratic backsliding and coups and stimulate democratization and consolidation. With its global scope, originality, and theoretical rigor, this is the first book to catalogue democracy clauses adopted by RIOs worldwide with a thorough analysis of their effectiveness.

This work explores the interrelationship between democracy and regional integration. Although centred in Europe, the volume shifts terms of discussion on integration and democracy by including case studies outside of Europe. It also analyzes the European Union's democratic deficit, the impact of regional integration of national democracy, and the dynamic interactions between democracy and integration elsewhere in the world.

The European Union might be the most prominent example of regional integration but it is by far not the only one. The importance of regional integration in Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Caribbean and even in the Pacific Islands region is constantly growing. All these regions aspire for more than pure economic cooperation. In addition to intensified economic cooperation, political, legal and cultural aspects are important factors as well that form a Mixtum Compositum of regional integration elements. The present volume discusses these different components of regional integration in theoretical perspective and in a policy-oriented approach. It contributes to comparative regional integration studies through theoretical analysis and case studies from different regions. Elements of Regional Integration presents the main features of regional integration in an interdisciplinary manner. It addresses scholars of political sciences, economics and law as well as students and is suited as accompanying material for courses.

The protection of human rights and popular participation on the first sight seem to contradict the often-existing image of the African continent. However, with the foundation of the African Union in 2000, both aspects gain greater importance on regional level. Besides that, many subregional courts within the sphere of sub-Sahara Africa partially started to develop human rights-related jurisdiction. In addition to that, most regional economic communities nowadays provide for their own parliamentary structures. The study aims to examine the several institutional structures and their competences on both, regional and subregional level. Besides that, it provides for a profound analysis of the jurisdiction of the respective courts as well as the communications of the African Commission of Human and Peoples’ Rights. Lastly, the study focuses on the correlation between the extension of the institutions’ competences and the political will of the involved governments.

This collection of essays aims to contribute to our understanding of the process of regional integration currently underway in South America. Mercosur is a regional manifestation of a world-wide process of globalisation whose driving force is economic, but which is potentially much more than that. It involves a variety of political, social and cultural processes, some of them barely at an embryonic stage, though each advancing at its own rate of progress. Mercosur's neo-liberal matrix, however, has led to the economic decision-making process being taken outside the realm of politics, thus leaving large sections of the population with no mechanism to influence the integration process so that it addresses their urgent needs and demands.

In Regional Integration in Africa: What Role for South Africa, Henri Bah, Siphamandla Zondi and André Mbata Mangu reflect on African integration. Despite some progress made, Africa is lagging behind and South Africa has not played a major role.