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In contemporary discourse on China-Africa relations, there are, on the one hand, the Sino-pessimists who see China as a giant vacuum-cleaner, sucking up Africa's resources in order to fuel its own rapid industrialization, and destroying Africa's development potential in the process. On the other hand, the Sino-optimists see China as the ultimate savior of Africa, capable of or willing to 'develop' the continent. Between the two divergent schools of thought are those sitting on the fence for the time being, the Sino-pragmatists, who are less sanguine for sure about what Africa would gain from China-Africa relations, but are nevertheless willing to reserve judgment until the dust settles. This book is innovative in two ways: it introduces a regional approach to the study of China-Africa relations by focusing on Eastern and Southern Africa; and it puts forward a disciplinary framework- disciplinary in both senses of that term- for interrogating the burgeoning literature about China-Africa relations by conceptualizing the three schools of thought mentioned above.

This book includes up-to-date studies of regional integration efforts in all major parts of the world, especially North America, South America and East Asia. In many cases these efforts are compared with the EU, where integration has progressed much further. Some important questions are asked: What explains the variation in achievements? What kind of agreements and institutions are needed to produce regional integration? Is 'pooling and delegation' of sovereignty necessary to overcome 'collective action problems'? How important is regional leadership? Various schools of thought are represented in the book, so different approaches are used and diverse conclusions arrived at. It appears that great power asymmetries in a region can make integration difficult if a dominant state is not willing to accept a relatively complete contract - as the United States was in the case of NAFTA - or accept supranational institutions. The acceptance of supranational institutions in Europe was facilitated by the relative symmetry among the core group of larger states, including France and Germany. In South America or East Asia, such symmetry did not exist and the dominant states - like Brazil in the case of MERCOSUR - were not willing to bind their hands through complete contracts or supranational institutions.This book is a major new contribution to the literature on regional integration. The book should appeal to theorists, policymakers, students and other readers concerned about world developments. It will also serve a place on courses covering international political economy, international relations and regional integration, at both undergraduate and graduate levels.

For decades North Africa and the Middle East have experienced overlapping identities and integration processes. With the exception of Morocco, the countries of North Africa have supported the re-launch of pan-Africanism in the form of the African Union and its growing institutionalization; but they also share an Arab identity and are members of the Arab League. Islamism commands wide support among the regions of North Africa and the Middle East, and the impact of European integration can increasingly be seen in varying forms.This comprehensive volume focuses on overlapping identities and integration processes in the Mediterranean basin and queries to what extent these various identities and integration processes are compatible or in conflict. Incorporating both theoretical and empirical material, it unites contributions from a variety of countries, thus exploring these issues from different perspectives.

This book examines the interregional relations of the European Union with East Asia through the prism of the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM). ASEM currently brings together 16 Asian countries, the 27 member states of the European Union, as well as the ASEAN Secretariat and the European Commission. ASEM's ten-year anniversary and the Sixth Summit in Helsinki prompted reflection on the forum's accomplishments in three dimensions of interaction, its working methods, democratic involvement, public awareness and global strategic potential. The volume provides an in-depth evaluation of ASEM's first decade from a European perspective, including the achievements of the ASEM6 Summit and its implications for the future of the process. It also analyzes the role of interregional interaction as a tool for EU foreign policy.

What we call "North America" today is a human space that has been constructed over the centuries, perceived from time immemorial by its original inhabitants as a unified whole, and named Turtle Island. What is North America today? Is it more than the sum of its parts? Does it qualify as a distinct global region? Is it just a market or also something else? This book explores several neglected aspects of the key relationships between Canada, Mexico and the United States. Studies of societal relations in North America have typically been limited to trade, investment and intergovernmental relations. In contrast, the authors in this book address other vital issues which bind this global region together, including Indigenous peoples, security, migration, civil societies, democracy, identities and culture. Via a thorough examination of these issues, the historical, sociological, economic, and political aspects of regional linkages are highlighted. Rather than dealing with each country in isolation, each chapter in this collection considers North America as a single unit of analysis, therefore systematically addressing the regional dynamic as a whole, and engaging the country-specific differences in a truly comparative way. By providing the analytical tools needed, this important book makes sense of the different aspects of the complex societies of contemporary North America.

For over a millennium, Asia and the Middle East have been closely connected through maritime activities and trade, a flourishing relationship that has given rise to new and thriving societies across the Indian Ocean region and Arabia. In recent times, with the global political and economic power shifts of the past decade, significant events in the Middle East and Asia have brought about fundamental global change; the Arab uprisings, the emergence of India and China as powerful global economies, the growing strength of various new Islamic movements, and serious financial uncertainties on a global scale have laid the foundations of a new world order between East and West. The current volume examines this renewed global dynamic, and how it is changing the relationships between the interdependent global communities across Asia and the Middle East. Focussing on the broader aspects of finance and trade between the Middle East and Asia, as well as growing security issues over natural resources and questions of sovereignty, this volume concludes with speculations on the growing importance of Asia and the Middle East in the global setting.