Globalization, domestic politics, and regionalism

This chapter analyzes regional orders along a conflict/cooperation spectrum. Regional orders are shaped by global, regional, and domestic forces and, in turn, influence the internal politics of states. Globalization affects regional orders directly and indirectly through domestic politics. The chapter builds on micro-foundations centered on two ideal-typical domestic ruling coalitions each advancing competing models of political survival. Internationalizing coalitions benefit from embracing the global political economy; inward-looking coalitions from resisting it. Regions dominated by internationalizing models typically are more cooperative than regions controlled by inward-looking models. In turn, cooperative regions reinforce the domestic logic of internationalizing models, whereas more conflictive regions strengthen inward-looking ones. Underlying regional coalitional configurations explain features of regional institutions. Internationalizing regions exhibit institutions more attuned to market-friendly “open regionalism” that lubricates ties to the global economy. A region’s coalitional center of gravity also affects how regions interact with one another and how models diffuse across regions.