Regionalization of the World : Comparing Regional Integrations

On the world map, macro-regions or global regions have gradually emerged, with varying degrees of success and following different trajectories. The authors of this book attempt to determine whether, within the context of globalization, these macro-regions have become an additional level in the spatial deployment of numerous actors, and whether they have come to stand between the national and global levels. This question has arisen because the increasing scales of trade, environmental problems, migration routes, energy distribution, the construction of major infrastructures etc. transcend national boundaries and are leading states to implement macro-regional cooperation. The authors ask whether these large regional groupings are becoming genuine territories and are the fruit of in-depth regional integration – economic, institutional, legal, normative, political, cultural and in terms of identity. If so, these global regions would therefore become referents that make sense and take root in social representations.