People’s Agenda for Alternative Regionalisms

Time 2020-11-06 16:04:05

Web Name: People’s Agenda for Alternative Regionalisms

WebSite: http://www.alternative-regionalisms.org

ID:106962

Keywords:

Agenda,People,for,

Description:

The 18th South Asian Associations for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit took place at Kathmandu, Nepal on November 25 and 26. The heads of the eight states of South Asia took part in the summit.Kathmandu was a showcase of what has happened repeatedly in the three decades since the birth of the SAARC. Leaders make rhetorical speeches and spend time on expensive retreats and sightseeing — then head home forgetting what was said in the summit hall.“SAARC remains largely ineffective, hostage to the political polemics of member-nations particularly India and Pakistan,” said Professor Imtiaz Ahmed of the International Relations department of Dhaka University.A People s SAARC summit was held as an alternative in Kathmandu from November 22-25. About 5000 social and political activists took part its opening ceremony on November 22. There were 71 workshops held to discuss an alternative agenda for SAARC heads of the state to consider.It was organised by People s SAARC Steering Committee, made up of 14 leading activists from all eight countries of the region.Three agreements were supposed to be signed at the 18th SAARC summit to improve road and rail connections, and integrate power trade in the region.The eight-member countries of SAARC are India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Maldives, Bhutan and Sri Lanka. Since its inception in 1985, SAARC signed a number of agreements and conventions, but faltered in translating ideas into collective actions.For an instance, the SAARC Regional Convention on Suppression of Terrorism was inked in 1987, within two years of the group s birth. Extra protocols to the convention updated the strategies in 2004. But, in reality, it was not effective, as several South Asian nations have seen a rise in terrorism.There are other examples as well. The SAARC Preferential Trading Arrangement, which was finalised in 1993, came into effect in 1995. It was followed by the South Asian Free Trade Agreement in 2004. But those remain unimplemented, as issues of non-tariff and para-tariff barriers are yet to be addressed.Moreover, the SAARC Food Bank Agreement was signed in 2007, but it is yet to be implemented. SAARC Development Fund was constituted in 2008 and SAARC Seed Bank in 2011, but none of those has seen much success.Two of the important SAARC countries, Pakistan and India have been close to war on several occasions during the last 30 years of its existence. Border clashes have become a norm in recent months particularly since Indian Prime Minister Nardner Modi has come into power in India.Pakistani Prime Minister Mian Nawaz Sharif and Modi both shook hands and spoke informally for five minutes. That was all what they had to offer each other. The two nuclear-armed nations have already broken the thread of negotiation earlier this year after some clashes at the border of Kashmir, a territory both countries claim as their own.The SAARC summit failed to address the growing threat posed by religious fundamentalists groups. The ascendance of religious extremism and intolerance is a serious challenge to democracy in the region.Pluralism and diversity, which are the hallmark of the region, are under threat from such groups, which often enjoy overt or covert patronage from the state. Women’s rights and other freedoms are the first to be targeted by extremist groups.The region is fraught with conflicts. Security is diminishing and governments’ militaristic response, far from resolving these conflicts, is undermining the rule of law and increasing insecurity.The number of conflict-induced internally displaced persons and refugees in the region have spiraled.People s rights have deteriorated in recent years, in particular, to freedom of association, freedom of expression and the right to protest.Freedom of press remains threatened and the independence of the media is seriously compromised by the growing influence and control of vested interests, including the corporate sector.The preparation for this SAARC summit was going on for months in one of the poorest country in the region. In Kathmandu, there was a big drive to clean most roads on the way to venue. The ruling elite in all SAARC countries very fond of the impressionist strategy of cleaning the roads prior to such meetings.It will be business as usual after the event is over. I personally saw soldiers cleaning the roads of Kathmandu three days before the main event. This is a rare scene in most countries of South Asia. Soldiers are normally there to rule, not clean the streets.The People s SAARC summit issued a joint declaration after holding all of its seminars, workshops and other events to formulate a joint strategy and point of view. It reaffirmed commitments to justice, peace, security, human rights and democracy in the region on the basis of equality for all and the elimination of all forms of discrimination.The declaration said that peoples must unite to challenge the systematic and structural marginalisation and exclusion of people through the dominant neoliberal economic model.This model is violently restructuring the region’s economic policies and cultural life, and undermining and devaluing the values and institutions of democracy.We have come together to resist the threat to democracy from chauvinism, sectarianism, and communalism. Increased securitisation and militarisation of states and society in the name of combating terrorism and defending national security and increasing arbitrary detention, torture, custodial rape and extra-judicial killings have reduced space for democratic dissent and freedoms.We have come together to respond to new challenges that have emerged in the form of climate change and environmental degradation which are of transnational dimensions; extraction of natural resources; food, water and energy crisis; and resource grab by governments and corporates.We must fight growing violence against women and girls, lower caste members, various tribal groups and indigenous peoples. Must must oppose discrimination against all minorities, including religious, sexual, linguistic, cultural and ethnic minorities, persons with disabilities, migrants and refugees.The systematic and structural processes and practices of discrimination further reinforce and reconstitute traditional forms of exploitative and oppressive structures. This includes patriarchy and caste, which are recreated in new forms, in the name of progress, modernisation and reform.The People s SAARC noted the renewed focus on SAARC by member countries and believes its stated goals of “deeper integration for peace and prosperity” is possible only when this cooperation goes beyond the interests of regional elites and corporations.It must allow socio-economic empowerment and enable the people of South Asia to build their regional identity. It must push just and sustainable development towards re-shaping the democratic institutions.The official SAARC summit issued a long statement filled with empty word on issues of regional cooperation, combating terrorism, poverty alleviation, development goals, food security, the environment, women s rights and access to health and education.The South Asian region features some of the world s worst human development indicators. According to conservative estimates, 44% of the population of India lives in poverty on less than US$1 a day.In Nepal, Pakistan and Bangladesh, the statistics are slightly better — at 38%, 31% and 29% respectively. In Bhutan and Afghanistan, where data is unavailable, the proportion of people living on US$1 a day or less is likely comparable with India in Bhutan s case and much higher in Afghanistan.Internationally, South Asia has the worst indicators for female illiteracy and has very poor rates of child mortality.The reason is simple. All the countries of South Asia are implementing neoliberal agendas. They are busy in privatising and taking loans from International Monetary Fund and World Bank that come with neoliberal conditions.Capitalism in all the countries has ensured there is a great divide among the population. Some of the world s most most rich people can be found in India as well as the most poor. Feudalism remain intact in various forms, while religious fundamentalism has emerged one of the region s most threatening challenges.In India and Pakistan, there is race to increase military spending and other countries are not far behind. There is no education for all, but Indian and Pakistani rulers are proud to be part of so-called nuclear nation club.The SAARC process has become a laughing stock despite the high expectations the summit built after the friendly gestures from all the head of the states.It is the process of the People s SAARC that can have a positive effect by bringing together the real representatives of the people. An integrated, nuclear-free, nuclear free South Asia is still a dream to be realised.[Farooq Tariq is a member of the core committee of the People s SAARC and is general secretary of Pakistan s Awami Workers Party.]Like the article? Subscribe to Green Left now! You can also like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.By Tang Siew MunAsia needs US$8.22 trillion to fund its infrastructure investment from 2010 to 2020, and existing lending institutions such as the Asian Development Bank (ADB) are unable to meet these requirements. Asia’s annual funding requirement of US$747.5 billion is 4.5 times more than the ADB’s subscribed capital.The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) can potentially provide up to US$30 billion of funding a year. This would be on average three times more than the loans approved by the ADB in 2011–13.Every geographical region — except North and Central America — is represented in the AIIB. The United States and Japan are the only East Asia Summit members not in the AIIB. Japan is also the only major Asian economy that has not committed to joining.The participation of European countries transforms the AIIB from a regional institution with a singular power base (China) to an entity that is broad-based and inclusive. The “European weight” was particularly important in redressing the institutional imbalance skewed in China’s favour and may reduce small states’ concerns about Chinese domination.Washington’s response to the AIIB initiative has been a strategic misreading that failed to anticipate its allies’ reactions in warming up to and eventually supporting the proposal. East Asian countries will now be watching what effect the Chinese initiative and American non-participation will have on the U.S. rebalance to Asia.The AIIB effectively breaks the American, European and Japanese monopoly on global financing, and concomitantly provides China with a new mechanism to expand its political influence in the region and make a bid for regional leadership. It signals the changing order in Asia.China’s management of the AIIB will indicate to Southeast Asia how China exercises its large and still growing power. Whether China will opt for just and benevolent leadership or one exercised with an iron fist will decide the region’s perceptions of China.In bankrolling the AIIB, China is stepping up to assume its responsibility as a major power in committing financial resources, having political will, and espousing a long-term view and sustained interest to drive and lead regional development.See paper hereThe 18th South Asian Associations for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit took place at Kathmandu, Nepal on November 25 and 26. The heads of the eight states of South Asia took part in the summit.Kathmandu was a showcase of what has happened repeatedly in the three decades since the birth of the SAARC. Leaders make rhetorical speeches and spend time on expensive retreats and sightseeing — then head home forgetting what was said in the summit hall.“SAARC remains largely ineffective, hostage to the political polemics of member-nations particularly India and Pakistan,” said Professor Imtiaz Ahmed of the International Relations department of Dhaka University.A People s SAARC summit was held as an alternative in Kathmandu from November 22-25. About 5000 social and political activists took part its opening ceremony on November 22. There were 71 workshops held to discuss an alternative agenda for SAARC heads of the state to consider.It was organised by People s SAARC Steering Committee, made up of 14 leading activists from all eight countries of the region.Three agreements were supposed to be signed at the 18th SAARC summit to improve road and rail connections, and integrate power trade in the region.The eight-member countries of SAARC are India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Maldives, Bhutan and Sri Lanka. Since its inception in 1985, SAARC signed a number of agreements and conventions, but faltered in translating ideas into collective actions.For an instance, the SAARC Regional Convention on Suppression of Terrorism was inked in 1987, within two years of the group s birth. Extra protocols to the convention updated the strategies in 2004. But, in reality, it was not effective, as several South Asian nations have seen a rise in terrorism.There are other examples as well. The SAARC Preferential Trading Arrangement, which was finalised in 1993, came into effect in 1995. It was followed by the South Asian Free Trade Agreement in 2004. But those remain unimplemented, as issues of non-tariff and para-tariff barriers are yet to be addressed.Moreover, the SAARC Food Bank Agreement was signed in 2007, but it is yet to be implemented. SAARC Development Fund was constituted in 2008 and SAARC Seed Bank in 2011, but none of those has seen much success.Two of the important SAARC countries, Pakistan and India have been close to war on several occasions during the last 30 years of its existence. Border clashes have become a norm in recent months particularly since Indian Prime Minister Nardner Modi has come into power in India.Pakistani Prime Minister Mian Nawaz Sharif and Modi both shook hands and spoke informally for five minutes. That was all what they had to offer each other. The two nuclear-armed nations have already broken the thread of negotiation earlier this year after some clashes at the border of Kashmir, a territory both countries claim as their own.The SAARC summit failed to address the growing threat posed by religious fundamentalists groups. The ascendance of religious extremism and intolerance is a serious challenge to democracy in the region.Pluralism and diversity, which are the hallmark of the region, are under threat from such groups, which often enjoy overt or covert patronage from the state. Women’s rights and other freedoms are the first to be targeted by extremist groups.The region is fraught with conflicts. Security is diminishing and governments’ militaristic response, far from resolving these conflicts, is undermining the rule of law and increasing insecurity.The number of conflict-induced internally displaced persons and refugees in the region have spiraled.People s rights have deteriorated in recent years, in particular, to freedom of association, freedom of expression and the right to protest.Freedom of press remains threatened and the independence of the media is seriously compromised by the growing influence and control of vested interests, including the corporate sector.The preparation for this SAARC summit was going on for months in one of the poorest country in the region. In Kathmandu, there was a big drive to clean most roads on the way to venue. The ruling elite in all SAARC countries very fond of the impressionist strategy of cleaning the roads prior to such meetings.It will be business as usual after the event is over. I personally saw soldiers cleaning the roads of Kathmandu three days before the main event. This is a rare scene in most countries of South Asia. Soldiers are normally there to rule, not clean the streets.The People s SAARC summit issued a joint declaration after holding all of its seminars, workshops and other events to formulate a joint strategy and point of view. It reaffirmed commitments to justice, peace, security, human rights and democracy in the region on the basis of equality for all and the elimination of all forms of discrimination.The declaration said that peoples must unite to challenge the systematic and structural marginalisation and exclusion of people through the dominant neoliberal economic model.This model is violently restructuring the region’s economic policies and cultural life, and undermining and devaluing the values and institutions of democracy.We have come together to resist the threat to democracy from chauvinism, sectarianism, and communalism. Increased securitisation and militarisation of states and society in the name of combating terrorism and defending national security and increasing arbitrary detention, torture, custodial rape and extra-judicial killings have reduced space for democratic dissent and freedoms.We have come together to respond to new challenges that have emerged in the form of climate change and environmental degradation which are of transnational dimensions; extraction of natural resources; food, water and energy crisis; and resource grab by governments and corporates.We must fight growing violence against women and girls, lower caste members, various tribal groups and indigenous peoples. Must must oppose discrimination against all minorities, including religious, sexual, linguistic, cultural and ethnic minorities, persons with disabilities, migrants and refugees.The systematic and structural processes and practices of discrimination further reinforce and reconstitute traditional forms of exploitative and oppressive structures. This includes patriarchy and caste, which are recreated in new forms, in the name of progress, modernisation and reform.The People s SAARC noted the renewed focus on SAARC by member countries and believes its stated goals of “deeper integration for peace and prosperity” is possible only when this cooperation goes beyond the interests of regional elites and corporations.It must allow socio-economic empowerment and enable the people of South Asia to build their regional identity. It must push just and sustainable development towards re-shaping the democratic institutions.The official SAARC summit issued a long statement filled with empty word on issues of regional cooperation, combating terrorism, poverty alleviation, development goals, food security, the environment, women s rights and access to health and education.The South Asian region features some of the world s worst human development indicators. According to conservative estimates, 44% of the population of India lives in poverty on less than US$1 a day.In Nepal, Pakistan and Bangladesh, the statistics are slightly better — at 38%, 31% and 29% respectively. In Bhutan and Afghanistan, where data is unavailable, the proportion of people living on US$1 a day or less is likely comparable with India in Bhutan s case and much higher in Afghanistan.Internationally, South Asia has the worst indicators for female illiteracy and has very poor rates of child mortality.The reason is simple. All the countries of South Asia are implementing neoliberal agendas. They are busy in privatising and taking loans from International Monetary Fund and World Bank that come with neoliberal conditions.Capitalism in all the countries has ensured there is a great divide among the population. Some of the world s most most rich people can be found in India as well as the most poor. Feudalism remain intact in various forms, while religious fundamentalism has emerged one of the region s most threatening challenges.In India and Pakistan, there is race to increase military spending and other countries are not far behind. There is no education for all, but Indian and Pakistani rulers are proud to be part of so-called nuclear nation club.The SAARC process has become a laughing stock despite the high expectations the summit built after the friendly gestures from all the head of the states.It is the process of the People s SAARC that can have a positive effect by bringing together the real representatives of the people. An integrated, nuclear-free, nuclear free South Asia is still a dream to be realised.[Farooq Tariq is a member of the core committee of the People s SAARC and is general secretary of Pakistan s Awami Workers Party.]Like the article? Subscribe to Green Left now! You can also like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.The 18th South Asian Associations for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit took place at Kathmandu, Nepal on November 25 and 26. The heads of the eight states of South Asia took part in the summit.Kathmandu was a showcase of what has happened repeatedly in the three decades since the birth of the SAARC. Leaders make rhetorical speeches and spend time on expensive retreats and sightseeing — then head home forgetting what was said in the summit hall.“SAARC remains largely ineffective, hostage to the political polemics of member-nations particularly India and Pakistan,” said Professor Imtiaz Ahmed of the International Relations department of Dhaka University.A People s SAARC summit was held as an alternative in Kathmandu from November 22-25. About 5000 social and political activists took part its opening ceremony on November 22. There were 71 workshops held to discuss an alternative agenda for SAARC heads of the state to consider.It was organised by People s SAARC Steering Committee, made up of 14 leading activists from all eight countries of the region.Three agreements were supposed to be signed at the 18th SAARC summit to improve road and rail connections, and integrate power trade in the region.The eight-member countries of SAARC are India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Maldives, Bhutan and Sri Lanka. Since its inception in 1985, SAARC signed a number of agreements and conventions, but faltered in translating ideas into collective actions.For an instance, the SAARC Regional Convention on Suppression of Terrorism was inked in 1987, within two years of the group s birth. Extra protocols to the convention updated the strategies in 2004. But, in reality, it was not effective, as several South Asian nations have seen a rise in terrorism.There are other examples as well. The SAARC Preferential Trading Arrangement, which was finalised in 1993, came into effect in 1995. It was followed by the South Asian Free Trade Agreement in 2004. But those remain unimplemented, as issues of non-tariff and para-tariff barriers are yet to be addressed.Moreover, the SAARC Food Bank Agreement was signed in 2007, but it is yet to be implemented. SAARC Development Fund was constituted in 2008 and SAARC Seed Bank in 2011, but none of those has seen much success.Two of the important SAARC countries, Pakistan and India have been close to war on several occasions during the last 30 years of its existence. Border clashes have become a norm in recent months particularly since Indian Prime Minister Nardner Modi has come into power in India.Pakistani Prime Minister Mian Nawaz Sharif and Modi both shook hands and spoke informally for five minutes. That was all what they had to offer each other. The two nuclear-armed nations have already broken the thread of negotiation earlier this year after some clashes at the border of Kashmir, a territory both countries claim as their own.The SAARC summit failed to address the growing threat posed by religious fundamentalists groups. The ascendance of religious extremism and intolerance is a serious challenge to democracy in the region.Pluralism and diversity, which are the hallmark of the region, are under threat from such groups, which often enjoy overt or covert patronage from the state. Women’s rights and other freedoms are the first to be targeted by extremist groups.The region is fraught with conflicts. Security is diminishing and governments’ militaristic response, far from resolving these conflicts, is undermining the rule of law and increasing insecurity.The number of conflict-induced internally displaced persons and refugees in the region have spiraled.People s rights have deteriorated in recent years, in particular, to freedom of association, freedom of expression and the right to protest.Freedom of press remains threatened and the independence of the media is seriously compromised by the growing influence and control of vested interests, including the corporate sector.The preparation for this SAARC summit was going on for months in one of the poorest country in the region. In Kathmandu, there was a big drive to clean most roads on the way to venue. The ruling elite in all SAARC countries very fond of the impressionist strategy of cleaning the roads prior to such meetings.It will be business as usual after the event is over. I personally saw soldiers cleaning the roads of Kathmandu three days before the main event. This is a rare scene in most countries of South Asia. Soldiers are normally there to rule, not clean the streets.The People s SAARC summit issued a joint declaration after holding all of its seminars, workshops and other events to formulate a joint strategy and point of view. It reaffirmed commitments to justice, peace, security, human rights and democracy in the region on the basis of equality for all and the elimination of all forms of discrimination.The declaration said that peoples must unite to challenge the systematic and structural marginalisation and exclusion of people through the dominant neoliberal economic model.This model is violently restructuring the region’s economic policies and cultural life, and undermining and devaluing the values and institutions of democracy.We have come together to resist the threat to democracy from chauvinism, sectarianism, and communalism. Increased securitisation and militarisation of states and society in the name of combating terrorism and defending national security and increasing arbitrary detention, torture, custodial rape and extra-judicial killings have reduced space for democratic dissent and freedoms.We have come together to respond to new challenges that have emerged in the form of climate change and environmental degradation which are of transnational dimensions; extraction of natural resources; food, water and energy crisis; and resource grab by governments and corporates.We must fight growing violence against women and girls, lower caste members, various tribal groups and indigenous peoples. Must must oppose discrimination against all minorities, including religious, sexual, linguistic, cultural and ethnic minorities, persons with disabilities, migrants and refugees.The systematic and structural processes and practices of discrimination further reinforce and reconstitute traditional forms of exploitative and oppressive structures. This includes patriarchy and caste, which are recreated in new forms, in the name of progress, modernisation and reform.The People s SAARC noted the renewed focus on SAARC by member countries and believes its stated goals of “deeper integration for peace and prosperity” is possible only when this cooperation goes beyond the interests of regional elites and corporations.It must allow socio-economic empowerment and enable the people of South Asia to build their regional identity. It must push just and sustainable development towards re-shaping the democratic institutions.The official SAARC summit issued a long statement filled with empty word on issues of regional cooperation, combating terrorism, poverty alleviation, development goals, food security, the environment, women s rights and access to health and education.The South Asian region features some of the world s worst human development indicators. According to conservative estimates, 44% of the population of India lives in poverty on less than US$1 a day.In Nepal, Pakistan and Bangladesh, the statistics are slightly better — at 38%, 31% and 29% respectively. In Bhutan and Afghanistan, where data is unavailable, the proportion of people living on US$1 a day or less is likely comparable with India in Bhutan s case and much higher in Afghanistan.Internationally, South Asia has the worst indicators for female illiteracy and has very poor rates of child mortality.The reason is simple. All the countries of South Asia are implementing neoliberal agendas. They are busy in privatising and taking loans from International Monetary Fund and World Bank that come with neoliberal conditions.Capitalism in all the countries has ensured there is a great divide among the population. Some of the world s most most rich people can be found in India as well as the most poor. Feudalism remain intact in various forms, while religious fundamentalism has emerged one of the region s most threatening challenges.In India and Pakistan, there is race to increase military spending and other countries are not far behind. There is no education for all, but Indian and Pakistani rulers are proud to be part of so-called nuclear nation club.The SAARC process has become a laughing stock despite the high expectations the summit built after the friendly gestures from all the head of the states.It is the process of the People s SAARC that can have a positive effect by bringing together the real representatives of the people. An integrated, nuclear-free, nuclear free South Asia is still a dream to be realised.[Farooq Tariq is a member of the core committee of the People s SAARC and is general secretary of Pakistan s Awami Workers Party.]Like the article? Subscribe to Green Left now! You can also like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.por Marcelo SaguierEl artículo analiza las condiciones en las que la UNASUR podría facilitar una estrategia regional de aprovechamiento de la minería para el desarrollo integral. Ello depende de que logre fortalecer las capacidades de los estados de intervenir en el mercado de minerales, regular la minería y democratizar las políticas mineras.Descargar de: http://rrii.flacso.org.ar/Doc/mineria-para-el-desarrollo-integral-en-la-estrategia-de-unasur/por Marcelo SaguierEl artículo analiza las condiciones en las que la UNASUR podría facilitar una estrategia regional de aprovechamiento de la minería para el desarrollo integral. Ello depende de que logre fortalecer las capacidades de los estados de intervenir en el mercado de minerales, regular la minería y democratizar las políticas mineras.Descargar de: http://rrii.flacso.org.ar/Doc/mineria-para-el-desarrollo-integral-en-la-estrategia-de-unasur/por Marcelo SaguierEl artículo analiza las condiciones en las que la UNASUR podría facilitar una estrategia regional de aprovechamiento de la minería para el desarrollo integral. Ello depende de que logre fortalecer las capacidades de los estados de intervenir en el mercado de minerales, regular la minería y democratizar las políticas mineras.Descargar de: http://rrii.flacso.org.ar/Doc/mineria-para-el-desarrollo-integral-en-la-estrategia-de-unasur/por Marcelo SaguierEl artículo analiza las condiciones en las que la UNASUR podría facilitar una estrategia regional de aprovechamiento de la minería para el desarrollo integral. Ello depende de que logre fortalecer las capacidades de los estados de intervenir en el mercado de minerales, regular la minería y democratizar las políticas mineras.Descargar de: http://rrii.flacso.org.ar/Doc/mineria-para-el-desarrollo-integral-en-la-estrategia-de-unasur/por Marcelo SaguierEl artículo analiza las condiciones en las que la UNASUR podría facilitar una estrategia regional de aprovechamiento de la minería para el desarrollo integral. Ello depende de que logre fortalecer las capacidades de los estados de intervenir en el mercado de minerales, regular la minería y democratizar las políticas mineras.Descargar de: http://rrii.flacso.org.ar/Doc/mineria-para-el-desarrollo-integral-en-la-estrategia-de-unasur/por Marcelo SaguierEl artículo analiza las condiciones en las que la UNASUR podría facilitar una estrategia regional de aprovechamiento de la minería para el desarrollo integral. Ello depende de que logre fortalecer las capacidades de los estados de intervenir en el mercado de minerales, regular la minería y democratizar las políticas mineras.Descargar de: http://rrii.flacso.org.ar/Doc/mineria-para-el-desarrollo-integral-en-la-estrategia-de-unasur/By Dorothy Grace GuerreroThe Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) is less than one year away from launching its Economic Community or AEC, a common market that will comprise 600 million people and have a combined GDP of nearly US$2 trillion (64 trillion baht).It is being propped up by free trade and investment agreements with the European Union, the United States, Japan, China and other big partners. Proponents claim the expansion in economic activities will benefit the poor by boosting production and consumption in the region, but is it that simple?Economic forecasts for the 10 Asean economies are positive; the OECD expects average annual GDP growth of over 5% from 2014 to 2018, with Indonesia reaching 6% growth, and the Philippines at 5.8%.The Asean Blueprint for economic integration under the AEC, signed in 2007 by Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, envisaged our full integration into the global economy. To pursue this, leaders committed to establishing free-market policies for goods, services, investment, money and labour.So far, this road map isn’t boosting democracy and socio-economic development. The free flow of investment isn’t really promoting people’s well being, or protecting human rights and realising environmental security. The regulations removed by liberalisation are the same ones that used to protect domestic industries, workers, the environment, and consumers.The experiences of CLMV countries show that unchecked foreign investment leads to land grabbing and natural resource loss. Many developing nations are now learning the bitter lesson that free trade does not operate on a level playing field and the rules always favour rich countries.Myanmar is about to host the Asean Summit for the first time. The country is now the prime target of transnational corporations eager to open up its market and exploit its resources.Myanmar’s accession to the AEC effectively completes Asean’s total submission to the regulations of neoliberal capitalism and the principles, policies and processes of economic liberalisation, as well as the commodification and financialisation of irreplaceable natural resources.The first Asean People’s Forum/Asean Civil Society Conference is taking place in Yangon right now with more than 1,200 representatives from local organisations, NGOs, and advocacy groups that will discuss the gaps in regional community building and the need to make the bloc more responsive to poor people’s needs.Indeed, many in the region have been critical of the Asean model of economic integration as governments are losing their policy space to protect and nurture domestic industries, which leads to the de-industrialisation of the more advanced capitalist economies and condemns the rest to the status of underdevelopment.The race to the bottom is making it harder for countries to protect local farmers that are producing food and their infant industries that are producing goods for domestic use as well as for export.The corporate takeover of governance of the commons and the rolling back of hard-won rights to local access and management of land, forests and water are undermining human rights standards. Unelected and unaccountable negotiators and consultants, often employed by corporations, trade away our rights in exchange for corporate profits.Our current methods of wealth production rely on dispossessing the poor and criminalising or oppressing those who promote rights-based development. This scenario worsens poverty and inequality. The region’s record on protecting social, environmental and labour standards is poor, and neoliberal market reforms would make it worse.Asean countries already have high rates of socio-economic inequality. Thailand, among the most prosperous in the region, is now ranked as the most unequal in Asia, and 12th worldwide, followed by Singapore (29th), Malaysia (33rd), the Philippines (36th), and Cambodia (45th).Despite the huge amount of wealth swirling in the region, around 66 million people are still living below the poverty threshold in Asean-6 countries and 20 million in CLMV.Clearly, the model is not working. It’s time to recognise that development can only be sustainable when governments can use their economic policies to pursue national interests, protect and promote local industries, pursue redistribution through equal access to quality public services like education, health, electricity, water and sanitation. Asean countries have a long way to go in this respect.Dorothy Grace Guerrero is a senior programme officer at Focus on the Global South. More information is at focusweb.orgArticle found at:http://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/opinion/400965/economic-integration-for-whom 9th Southern Africa Civil Society Forum (10-14 August 2013, Malawi)Representatives of civil society organizations from across the Southern Africa Region, met under the auspices of the Fellowship of Christian Councils of Southern Africa (FOCCISA), Southern Africa Development Community – Council of Non-Governmental Organizations (SADC-­?CNGO) and the Southern Africa Trade Union Coordination Council (SATUCC) between the 11th to the 14th of August 2013 at the 9th Southern Africa Civil Society Forum issue this statement to the SADC Heads of State and Government Summit scheduled for the 17th?18th August 2013.Read the Declaration SADC We want: acting together -­ ensuring accountability! The themes covered in the Declaration include: GOVERNANCE ACCOUNTABILITY* On Democratic Elections* On Governance* On Peace and Security* On Countries TOWARDS AN INTEGRATED REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK* On Finance for Development* On Trade and Decent Work TAKING FORWARD SADC WE WANT CAMPAIGN SOCIAL AND HUMAN DEVELOPMENT* On Poverty Development* On Climate Change* On Social Protection* On HIV and AIDS* On Land and Natural Resources* On Gender* On Indigenous Peoples* On Water* On child rights9th Southern Africa Civil Society Forum (10-14 August 2013, Lilongwe, Malawi)Representatives of civil society organizations from across the Southern Africa Region, met under the auspices of the Fellowship of Christian Councils of Southern Africa (FOCCISA), Southern Africa Development Community – Council of Non-Governmental Organizations (SADC-­?CNGO) and the Southern Africa Trade Union Coordination Council (SATUCC) between the 11th to the 14th of August 2013 at the 9th Southern Africa Civil Society Forum issue this statement to the SADC Heads of State and Government Summit scheduled for the 17th?18th August 2013.Read the Declaration SADC We want: acting together -­ ensuring accountability! The themes covered in the Declaration include: GOVERNANCE ACCOUNTABILITY* On Democratic Elections* On Governance* On Peace and Security* On Countries TOWARDS AN INTEGRATED REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK* On Finance for Development* On Trade and Decent Work TAKING FORWARD SADC WE WANT CAMPAIGN SOCIAL AND HUMAN DEVELOPMENT* On Poverty Development* On Climate Change* On Social Protection* On HIV and AIDS* On Land and Natural Resources* On Gender* On Indigenous Peoples* On Water* On child rights9th Southern Africa Civil Society Forum (10-14 August 2013, Lilongwe, Malawi)Representatives of civil society organizations from across the Southern Africa Region, met under the auspices of the Fellowship of Christian Councils of Southern Africa (FOCCISA), Southern Africa Development Community – Council of Non-Governmental Organizations (SADC-­?CNGO) and the Southern Africa Trade Union Coordination Council (SATUCC) between the 11th to the 14th of August 2013 at the 9th Southern Africa Civil Society Forum issue this statement to the SADC Heads of State and Government Summit scheduled for the 17th?18th August 2013.Read the Declaration SADC We want: acting together -­ ensuring accountability! The themes covered in the Declaration include: GOVERNANCE ACCOUNTABILITY* On Democratic Elections* On Governance* On Peace and Security* On Countries TOWARDS AN INTEGRATED REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK* On Finance for Development* On Trade and Decent Work TAKING FORWARD SADC WE WANT CAMPAIGN SOCIAL AND HUMAN DEVELOPMENT* On Poverty Development* On Climate Change* On Social Protection* On HIV and AIDS* On Land and Natural Resources* On Gender* On Indigenous Peoples* On Water* On child rights9th Southern Africa Civil Society Forum (10-14 August 2013, Malawi)Representatives of civil society organizations from across the Southern Africa Region, met under the auspices of the Fellowship of Christian Councils of Southern Africa (FOCCISA), Southern Africa Development Community – Council of Non-Governmental Organizations (SADC-­?CNGO) and the Southern Africa Trade Union Coordination Council (SATUCC) between the 11th to the 14th of August 2013 at the 9th Southern Africa Civil Society Forum issue this statement to the SADC Heads of State and Government Summit scheduled for the 17th?18th August 2013.Read the Declaration SADC We want: acting together -­ ensuring accountability! The themes covered in the Declaration include: GOVERNANCE ACCOUNTABILITY* On Democratic Elections* On Governance* On Peace and Security* On Countries TOWARDS AN INTEGRATED REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK* On Finance for Development* On Trade and Decent Work TAKING FORWARD SADC WE WANT CAMPAIGN SOCIAL AND HUMAN DEVELOPMENT* On Poverty Development* On Climate Change* On Social Protection* On HIV and AIDS* On Land and Natural Resources* On Gender* On Indigenous Peoples* On Water* On child rightsThe Southern African Development Community has an ambitious infrastructure development plan to deal with the region’s deficit road, rail and ports infrastructure. Pictured here is the Democratic Republic of Congo capital, Kinshasa. Credit: Einberger/argum/EED/IPSLILONGWE/JOHANNESBURG, Aug 29 2013 (IPS) The Southern African Development Community has had to revisit its plans to raise funding for its ambitious regional development plan in the wake of a cold-shoulder from western nations and multilateral finance institutions.“Nobody has come forward to fund any of the projects we have outlined. I have been to Japan, the United States and the United Kingdom, among other countries,” SADC deputy executive secretary for regional integration Joao Samuel Caholo told IPS.“What is holding us back as SADC is our inability to fund our own priorities and programmes. Therefore, a sustainable funding mechanism has to be established if we are to show that we are committed and progressing.”However, development experts have questioned whether SADC is sufficiently mature to handle ambitious projects such as the Regional Infrastructure Development Master Plan (RIDMP), which is estimated to cost 500 billion dollars.The RIDMP aims to rebuild the region’s deficit road, rail and ports infrastructure, increase its power-generation capacity, and establish communication and weather systems. Access to water, and providing the infrastructure for its distribution is also a priority.“SADC has the potential and we are asking for the goodwill of all member states. Let them put in the seed money,” said the outgoing executive secretary.The long-awaited SADC Development Fund will be modelled on the European Investment Bank and other regional funding ventures. SADC countries will initially contribute 1.2 billion dollars or 51 percent. The private sector and international partners will contribute the remaining 37 and 12 percent respectively.Contributions will be over a five-year period starting in 2013 based on a country’s affordability, institutional capacity and other criteria, which Caholo was reluctant to divulge.“If after five years a country fails to pay its contribution, its shares will be recalled and distributed among the complying states so that the 51 percent shareholding by African states is maintained,” Caholo said.However, a member state will still be able to access funds for its development projects as outlined in the RIDMP.Professor Eltie Links, the chairperson of Doing Business in Africa at South Africa’s University of Stellenbosch Business School, told IPS that “SADC as a regional body would have to think about the objectives and the management of a new financing arm.”“The fact that the region comprises a number of countries with varied levels of development makes it essential that some or other form of assistance be given to economies that are suffering in the development sphere. This, however, can only be afforded if there is sufficient economic and financial muscle in the regional body,” Links said.He said there was no doubt about the need for more infrastructure development in the region, but development aid channelled through SADC “will always be at the cost of the bilateral support given by these same [donor] countries to the region’s needy countries. This aid funding pool has always been finite.”He suggested that donors would need to be convinced that SADC is now at a stage where it can handle multi-billion dollar projects.“SADC’s record as an institution that is well organised and governed has been questioned in the past. To the extent that these perceptions of a body with challenges in governance still persist, it will not get the type of support needed for a project financing arm.“It will also have to demonstrate the ability to administer and manage such funding and projects; something it has not been able to prove beyond any doubt.”This view was echoed by the chief executive officer of the Frontier Advisory consultancy, Martyn Davies, who argued that the SADC secretariat should not be the body that seeks to fund projects, and should instead focus on coordinating and bringing projects to the point of bankability.“SADC, unfortunately, does not do enough in harmonising pursuits towards regional integration, and needs to do more of the basics toward promoting the facilitation of trade and capital flow in the region,” Davies told IPS.“Donors regularly work with SADC, but the more important engagement should be with big business, and this is currently insufficient. There needs to be greater communication from SADC as to its role and also outreach to and engagement with business in order to better implement these goals.”Trade consultant John Mare agreed that initially SADC should play more of a coordination role.Mare told IPS a new funding institution was not needed as “there are already too many others – but SADC can help shape bankable projects and relate them to SADC priorities.”He added that there was a need for better capacities inside SADC to work on such projects and, especially, a greater need for coordinating mechanisms between all stakeholders at national and regional levels.“A key challenge is to improve SADC coordination with other regional organisations in which many SADC members are also members. It is crucially important that this happens – and the tragedy is that SADC is said to have more capacity than many other regional organisations in Africa,” Mare said.He added that while there were many potential projects in Africa, what was missing was driving mechanisms for these projects.Davies agreed there is no shortage of projects, but suggested “the challenge lies in fostering cooperation between the respective governments and bringing the projects to bankability.”“I have never seen a good project that cannot get funding when politics is aligned.”Originally published by IPS.Por uma integração ampliada da América do Sul no século XXIIngrid Sarti, Mônica Leite Lessa, Glauber Cardoso Carvalho (Orgs).  E-book. V.1. Rio de Janeiro: Perse, 2013.ISBN 978-85-8196-416-4 (E-book Vol 2)Download (5,7Mb)Ingrid Sarti, Daniela Perrotta, Mônica Leite Lessa, Glauber Cardoso Carvalho (Orgs).    E-book. V.2. Rio de Janeiro: Perse, 2013.ISBN 978-85-8196-416-4 (E-book Vol 2)Download (4,1Mb) Nesta publicação, a primeira e mais longa parte contém reflexões sobre os principais desafios teóricos, políticos e institucionais no contexto de uma avaliação aprofundada dos efeitos da crise mundial do século XXI na dinâmica econômica, jurídica e financeira da integração. Olhares diversos convergem para a importância da crise sistêmica mundial no redesenho da integração, principalmente quando uma União Europeia vulnerável se enfraquece também como modelo de referência histórico de integração que tanto influenciou o debate acadêmico internacional. Discutem-se a viabilidade e os obstáculos na elaboração de uma arquitetura financeira regional que possa dar suporte à estratégia de desenvolvimento e às políticas sociais em curso. A importância dos direitos humanos é tema também contemplado como um dos desafios teóricos e político-institucionais que a integração suscita. A segunda parte, Desenvolvimento e geopolítica, reúne análises critico propositivas sobre um conjunto de temas cruciais para a agenda da integração sulamericana. Em abordagens que extrapolam as fronteiras do Mercosul, o papel da defesa, da energia e da infraestrutura do continente são aspectos estratégicos percebidos em um projeto de desenvolvimento integral. A atuação dos Conselhos da Unasul, em especial o de Defesa e o de Infraestrutura e Planejamento, surgem em análises que apontam a necessidade de diálogo e cooperação no desenho de um planejamento da segurança, da energia e de toda a rede física que viabiliza o encontro entre os povos da região. Fator estratégico apontado é o aproveitamento dos recursos naturais especialmente o amplo potencial e disponibilidade de recursos agrícolas e da água. Numa América do Sul autossuficiente em termos de alimentação e energia (petróleo e recursos hidrelétricos), a proposta é a de que efetivamente se adotem políticas públicas regionais aptas a viabilizar a integração dos recursos energéticos sul-americanos, que, nas palavras de Darc Costa, promovam a autossuficiência e independência em relação a este setor estratégico e de crescente carência mundial, fortalecendo a posição política e econômica da região no concerto das nações, gerando sinergias e benefícios ao desenvolvimento do subcontinente.No segundo volume desta publicação, os recursos estratégicos considerados são os recursos humanos que compõem o marco artístico-cultural e moldam a produção científica e tecnológica da região. Na terceira parte, os textos contribuem para a reflexão sobre os Aspectos da dinâmica cultural da integração. Arte e memória são aqui dotadas de uma dinâmica própria quando a indústria criativa em expansão potencializa novas formas de comunicação, em contexto ainda dominado por tradicionais monopólios dos meios. Na avaliação de Mônica Leite Lessa, que coordenou o Simpósio sobre Cultura, a cultura torna-se um poderoso fator de inclusão e de desenvolvimento econômico e social, de inserção internacional, e de integração regional no contexto das políticas públicas vigentes na América do Sul.O debate sobre as formas de produção do conhecimento e os alcances e obstáculos no processo de criação de tecnologias sociais em sistema de cooperação regional são o destaque na quarta parte da publicação. Para o especialista na análise de tecnologias sociais para inclusão, Hernán Thomas, a escassa orientação das políticas públicas para o atendimento das demandas da população local é um problema a ser enfrentado por toda a coletividade envolvida no processo decisório de Ciência, Tecnologia e Inovação. Reeditamos aqui alguns dos artigos polêmicos que provocaram o debate no XIII Congresso, como não poderia deixar de ocorrer em evento e publicação de um Fórum Universitário, como é o FoMerco. O relato de Daniela Perrotta, coordenadora do Simpósio sobre Universidade é, em si mesmo, uma valiosa contribuição que introduz o leitor a este capítulo que encerra nossa publicação. FoMerco Fórum Universitário Mercosulhttp://www.fomerco.com.br/ 9th Southern Africa Civil Society Forum (10-14 August 2013, Malawi)Representatives of civil society organizations from across the Southern Africa Region, met under the auspices of the Fellowship of Christian Councils of Southern Africa (FOCCISA), Southern Africa Development Community – Council of Non-Governmental Organizations (SADC-­?CNGO) and the Southern Africa Trade Union Coordination Council (SATUCC) between the 11th to the 14th of August 2013 at the 9th Southern Africa Civil Society Forum issue this statement to the SADC Heads of State and Government Summit scheduled for the 17th?18th August 2013.Read the Declaration SADC We want: acting together -­ ensuring accountability! The themes covered in the Declaration include: GOVERNANCE ACCOUNTABILITY* On Democratic Elections* On Governance* On Peace and Security* On Countries TOWARDS AN INTEGRATED REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK* On Finance for Development* On Trade and Decent Work TAKING FORWARD SADC WE WANT CAMPAIGN SOCIAL AND HUMAN DEVELOPMENT* On Poverty Development* On Climate Change* On Social Protection* On HIV and AIDS* On Land and Natural Resources* On Gender* On Indigenous Peoples* On Water* On child rights9th Southern Africa Civil Society Forum (10-14 August 2013, there Lilongwe, Malawi)Representatives of civil society organizations from across the Southern Africa Region, met under the auspices of the Fellowship of Christian Councils of Southern Africa (FOCCISA), Southern Africa Development Community – Council of Non-Governmental Organizations (SADC-­?CNGO) and the Southern Africa Trade Union Coordination Council (SATUCC) between the 11th to the 14th of August 2013 at the 9th Southern Africa Civil Society Forum issue this statement to the SADC Heads of State and Government Summit scheduled for the 17th?18th August 2013.Read the Declaration SADC We want: acting together -­ ensuring accountability! The themes covered in the Declaration include: GOVERNANCE ACCOUNTABILITY* On Democratic Elections* On Governance* On Peace and Security* On Countries TOWARDS AN INTEGRATED REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK* On Finance for Development* On Trade and Decent Work TAKING FORWARD SADC WE WANT CAMPAIGN SOCIAL AND HUMAN DEVELOPMENT* On Poverty Development* On Climate Change* On Social Protection* On HIV and AIDS* On Land and Natural Resources* On Gender* On Indigenous Peoples* On Water* On child rights9th Southern Africa Civil Society Forum (10-14 August 2013, Lilongwe, Malawi)Representatives of civil society organizations from across the Southern Africa Region, met under the auspices of the Fellowship of Christian Councils of Southern Africa (FOCCISA), Southern Africa Development Community – Council of Non-Governmental Organizations (SADC-­?CNGO) and the Southern Africa Trade Union Coordination Council (SATUCC) between the 11th to the 14th of August 2013 at the 9th Southern Africa Civil Society Forum issue this statement to the SADC Heads of State and Government Summit scheduled for the 17th?18th August 2013.Read the Declaration SADC We want: acting together -­ ensuring accountability! The themes covered in the Declaration include: GOVERNANCE ACCOUNTABILITY* On Democratic Elections* On Governance* On Peace and Security* On Countries TOWARDS AN INTEGRATED REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK* On Finance for Development* On Trade and Decent Work TAKING FORWARD SADC WE WANT CAMPAIGN SOCIAL AND HUMAN DEVELOPMENT* On Poverty Development* On Climate Change* On Social Protection* On HIV and AIDS* On Land and Natural Resources* On Gender* On Indigenous Peoples* On Water* On child rights9th Southern Africa Civil Society Forum (10-14 August 2013, pharm Lilongwe, Malawi)Representatives of civil society organizations from across the Southern Africa Region, met under the auspices of the Fellowship of Christian Councils of Southern Africa (FOCCISA), Southern Africa Development Community – Council of Non-Governmental Organizations (SADC-­?CNGO) and the Southern Africa Trade Union Coordination Council (SATUCC) between the 11th to the 14th of August 2013 at the 9th Southern Africa Civil Society Forum issue this statement to the SADC Heads of State and Government Summit scheduled for the 17th?18th August 2013.Read the Declaration SADC We want: acting together -­ ensuring accountability! The themes covered in the Declaration include: GOVERNANCE ACCOUNTABILITY* On Democratic Elections* On Governance* On Peace and Security* On Countries TOWARDS AN INTEGRATED REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK* On Finance for Development* On Trade and Decent Work TAKING FORWARD SADC WE WANT CAMPAIGN SOCIAL AND HUMAN DEVELOPMENT* On Poverty Development* On Climate Change* On Social Protection* On HIV and AIDS* On Land and Natural Resources* On Gender* On Indigenous Peoples* On Water* On child rightsThe Southern African Development Community has an ambitious infrastructure development plan to deal with the region’s deficit road, rail and ports infrastructure. Pictured here is the Democratic Republic of Congo capital, Kinshasa. Credit: Einberger/argum/EED/IPSLILONGWE/JOHANNESBURG, Aug 29 2013 (IPS) The Southern African Development Community has had to revisit its plans to raise funding for its ambitious regional development plan in the wake of a cold-shoulder from western nations and multilateral finance institutions.“Nobody has come forward to fund any of the projects we have outlined. I have been to Japan, the United States and the United Kingdom, among other countries,” SADC deputy executive secretary for regional integration Joao Samuel Caholo told IPS.“What is holding us back as SADC is our inability to fund our own priorities and programmes. Therefore, a sustainable funding mechanism has to be established if we are to show that we are committed and progressing.”However, development experts have questioned whether SADC is sufficiently mature to handle ambitious projects such as the Regional Infrastructure Development Master Plan (RIDMP), which is estimated to cost 500 billion dollars.The RIDMP aims to rebuild the region’s deficit road, rail and ports infrastructure, increase its power-generation capacity, and establish communication and weather systems. Access to water, and providing the infrastructure for its distribution is also a priority.“SADC has the potential and we are asking for the goodwill of all member states. Let them put in the seed money,” said the outgoing executive secretary.The long-awaited SADC Development Fund will be modelled on the European Investment Bank and other regional funding ventures. SADC countries will initially contribute 1.2 billion dollars or 51 percent. The private sector and international partners will contribute the remaining 37 and 12 percent respectively.Contributions will be over a five-year period starting in 2013 based on a country’s affordability, institutional capacity and other criteria, which Caholo was reluctant to divulge.“If after five years a country fails to pay its contribution, its shares will be recalled and distributed among the complying states so that the 51 percent shareholding by African states is maintained,” Caholo said.However, a member state will still be able to access funds for its development projects as outlined in the RIDMP.Professor Eltie Links, the chairperson of Doing Business in Africa at South Africa’s University of Stellenbosch Business School, told IPS that “SADC as a regional body would have to think about the objectives and the management of a new financing arm.”“The fact that the region comprises a number of countries with varied levels of development makes it essential that some or other form of assistance be given to economies that are suffering in the development sphere. This, however, can only be afforded if there is sufficient economic and financial muscle in the regional body,” Links said.He said there was no doubt about the need for more infrastructure development in the region, but development aid channelled through SADC “will always be at the cost of the bilateral support given by these same [donor] countries to the region’s needy countries. This aid funding pool has always been finite.”He suggested that donors would need to be convinced that SADC is now at a stage where it can handle multi-billion dollar projects.“SADC’s record as an institution that is well organised and governed has been questioned in the past. To the extent that these perceptions of a body with challenges in governance still persist, it will not get the type of support needed for a project financing arm.“It will also have to demonstrate the ability to administer and manage such funding and projects; something it has not been able to prove beyond any doubt.”This view was echoed by the chief executive officer of the Frontier Advisory consultancy, Martyn Davies, who argued that the SADC secretariat should not be the body that seeks to fund projects, and should instead focus on coordinating and bringing projects to the point of bankability.“SADC, unfortunately, does not do enough in harmonising pursuits towards regional integration, and needs to do more of the basics toward promoting the facilitation of trade and capital flow in the region,” Davies told IPS.“Donors regularly work with SADC, but the more important engagement should be with big business, and this is currently insufficient. There needs to be greater communication from SADC as to its role and also outreach to and engagement with business in order to better implement these goals.”Trade consultant John Mare agreed that initially SADC should play more of a coordination role.Mare told IPS a new funding institution was not needed as “there are already too many others – but SADC can help shape bankable projects and relate them to SADC priorities.”He added that there was a need for better capacities inside SADC to work on such projects and, especially, a greater need for coordinating mechanisms between all stakeholders at national and regional levels.“A key challenge is to improve SADC coordination with other regional organisations in which many SADC members are also members. It is crucially important that this happens – and the tragedy is that SADC is said to have more capacity than many other regional organisations in Africa,” Mare said.He added that while there were many potential projects in Africa, what was missing was driving mechanisms for these projects.Davies agreed there is no shortage of projects, but suggested “the challenge lies in fostering cooperation between the respective governments and bringing the projects to bankability.”“I have never seen a good project that cannot get funding when politics is aligned.”Originally published by IPS.Por uma integração ampliada da América do Sul no século XXIIngrid Sarti, Daniela Perrotta, Mônica Leite Lessa, Glauber Cardoso Carvalho (Orgs).  E-book. V.1. Rio de Janeiro: Perse, 2013.ISBN 978-85-8196-416-4 (E-book Vol 2)Download (5,7Mb)Ingrid Sarti, Daniela Perrotta, Mônica Leite Lessa, Glauber Cardoso Carvalho (Orgs).    E-book. V.2. Rio de Janeiro: Perse, 2013.ISBN 978-85-8196-416-4 (E-book Vol 2)Download (4,1Mb) Nesta publicação, a primeira e mais longa parte contém reflexões sobre os principais desafios teóricos, políticos e institucionais no contexto de uma avaliação aprofundada dos efeitos da crise mundial do século XXI na dinâmica econômica, jurídica e financeira da integração. Olhares diversos convergem para a importância da crise sistêmica mundial no redesenho da integração, principalmente quando uma União Europeia vulnerável se enfraquece também como modelo de referência histórico de integração que tanto influenciou o debate acadêmico internacional. Discutem-se a viabilidade e os obstáculos na elaboração de uma arquitetura financeira regional que possa dar suporte à estratégia de desenvolvimento e às políticas sociais em curso. A importância dos direitos humanos é tema também contemplado como um dos desafios teóricos e político-institucionais que a integração suscita. A segunda parte, Desenvolvimento e geopolítica, reúne análises critico propositivas sobre um conjunto de temas cruciais para a agenda da integração sulamericana. Em abordagens que extrapolam as fronteiras do Mercosul, o papel da defesa, da energia e da infraestrutura do continente são aspectos estratégicos percebidos em um projeto de desenvolvimento integral. A atuação dos Conselhos da Unasul, em especial o de Defesa e o de Infraestrutura e Planejamento, surgem em análises que apontam a necessidade de diálogo e cooperação no desenho de um planejamento da segurança, da energia e de toda a rede física que viabiliza o encontro entre os povos da região. Fator estratégico apontado é o aproveitamento dos recursos naturais especialmente o amplo potencial e disponibilidade de recursos agrícolas e da água. Numa América do Sul autossuficiente em termos de alimentação e energia (petróleo e recursos hidrelétricos), a proposta é a de que efetivamente se adotem políticas públicas regionais aptas a viabilizar a integração dos recursos energéticos sul-americanos, que, nas palavras de Darc Costa, promovam a autossuficiência e independência em relação a este setor estratégico e de crescente carência mundial, fortalecendo a posição política e econômica da região no concerto das nações, gerando sinergias e benefícios ao desenvolvimento do subcontinente.No segundo volume desta publicação, os recursos estratégicos considerados são os recursos humanos que compõem o marco artístico-cultural e moldam a produção científica e tecnológica da região. Na terceira parte, os textos contribuem para a reflexão sobre os Aspectos da dinâmica cultural da integração. Arte e memória são aqui dotadas de uma dinâmica própria quando a indústria criativa em expansão potencializa novas formas de comunicação, em contexto ainda dominado por tradicionais monopólios dos meios. Na avaliação de Mônica Leite Lessa, que coordenou o Simpósio sobre Cultura, a cultura torna-se um poderoso fator de inclusão e de desenvolvimento econômico e social, de inserção internacional, e de integração regional no contexto das políticas públicas vigentes na América do Sul.O debate sobre as formas de produção do conhecimento e os alcances e obstáculos no processo de criação de tecnologias sociais em sistema de cooperação regional são o destaque na quarta parte da publicação. Para o especialista na análise de tecnologias sociais para inclusão, Hernán Thomas, a escassa orientação das políticas públicas para o atendimento das demandas da população local é um problema a ser enfrentado por toda a coletividade envolvida no processo decisório de Ciência, Tecnologia e Inovação. Reeditamos aqui alguns dos artigos polêmicos que provocaram o debate no XIII Congresso, como não poderia deixar de ocorrer em evento e publicação de um Fórum Universitário, como é o FoMerco. O relato de Daniela Perrotta, coordenadora do Simpósio sobre Universidade é, em si mesmo, uma valiosa contribuição que introduz o leitor a este capítulo que encerra nossa publicação. FoMerco Fórum Universitário Mercosulhttp://www.fomerco.com.br/The Southern African Development Community has an ambitious infrastructure development plan to deal with the region’s deficit road, rail and ports infrastructure. Pictured here is the Democratic Republic of Congo capital, Kinshasa. Credit: Einberger/argum/EED/IPSLILONGWE/JOHANNESBURG, Aug 29 2013 (IPS) The Southern African Development Community has had to revisit its plans to raise funding for its ambitious regional development plan in the wake of a cold-shoulder from western nations and multilateral finance institutions.“Nobody has come forward to fund any of the projects we have outlined. I have been to Japan, the United States and the United Kingdom, among other countries,” SADC deputy executive secretary for regional integration Joao Samuel Caholo told IPS.“What is holding us back as SADC is our inability to fund our own priorities and programmes. Therefore, a sustainable funding mechanism has to be established if we are to show that we are committed and progressing.”However, development experts have questioned whether SADC is sufficiently mature to handle ambitious projects such as the Regional Infrastructure Development Master Plan (RIDMP), which is estimated to cost 500 billion dollars.The RIDMP aims to rebuild the region’s deficit road, rail and ports infrastructure, increase its power-generation capacity, and establish communication and weather systems. Access to water, and providing the infrastructure for its distribution is also a priority.“SADC has the potential and we are asking for the goodwill of all member states. Let them put in the seed money,” said the outgoing executive secretary.The long-awaited SADC Development Fund will be modelled on the European Investment Bank and other regional funding ventures. SADC countries will initially contribute 1.2 billion dollars or 51 percent. The private sector and international partners will contribute the remaining 37 and 12 percent respectively.Contributions will be over a five-year period starting in 2013 based on a country’s affordability, institutional capacity and other criteria, which Caholo was reluctant to divulge.“If after five years a country fails to pay its contribution, its shares will be recalled and distributed among the complying states so that the 51 percent shareholding by African states is maintained,” Caholo said.However, a member state will still be able to access funds for its development projects as outlined in the RIDMP.Professor Eltie Links, the chairperson of Doing Business in Africa at South Africa’s University of Stellenbosch Business School, told IPS that “SADC as a regional body would have to think about the objectives and the management of a new financing arm.”“The fact that the region comprises a number of countries with varied levels of development makes it essential that some or other form of assistance be given to economies that are suffering in the development sphere. This, however, can only be afforded if there is sufficient economic and financial muscle in the regional body,” Links said.He said there was no doubt about the need for more infrastructure development in the region, but development aid channelled through SADC “will always be at the cost of the bilateral support given by these same [donor] countries to the region’s needy countries. This aid funding pool has always been finite.”He suggested that donors would need to be convinced that SADC is now at a stage where it can handle multi-billion dollar projects.“SADC’s record as an institution that is well organised and governed has been questioned in the past. To the extent that these perceptions of a body with challenges in governance still persist, it will not get the type of support needed for a project financing arm.“It will also have to demonstrate the ability to administer and manage such funding and projects; something it has not been able to prove beyond any doubt.”This view was echoed by the chief executive officer of the Frontier Advisory consultancy, Martyn Davies, who argued that the SADC secretariat should not be the body that seeks to fund projects, and should instead focus on coordinating and bringing projects to the point of bankability.“SADC, unfortunately, does not do enough in harmonising pursuits towards regional integration, and needs to do more of the basics toward promoting the facilitation of trade and capital flow in the region,” Davies told IPS.“Donors regularly work with SADC, but the more important engagement should be with big business, and this is currently insufficient. There needs to be greater communication from SADC as to its role and also outreach to and engagement with business in order to better implement these goals.”Trade consultant John Mare agreed that initially SADC should play more of a coordination role.Mare told IPS a new funding institution was not needed as “there are already too many others – but SADC can help shape bankable projects and relate them to SADC priorities.”He added that there was a need for better capacities inside SADC to work on such projects and, especially, a greater need for coordinating mechanisms between all stakeholders at national and regional levels.“A key challenge is to improve SADC coordination with other regional organisations in which many SADC members are also members. It is crucially important that this happens – and the tragedy is that SADC is said to have more capacity than many other regional organisations in Africa,” Mare said.He added that while there were many potential projects in Africa, what was missing was driving mechanisms for these projects.Davies agreed there is no shortage of projects, but suggested “the challenge lies in fostering cooperation between the respective governments and bringing the projects to bankability.”“I have never seen a good project that cannot get funding when politics is aligned.”Originally published by IPS.The Southern African Development Community has an ambitious infrastructure development plan to deal with the region’s deficit road, rail and ports infrastructure. Pictured here is the Democratic Republic of Congo capital, Kinshasa. Credit: Einberger/argum/EED/IPSLILONGWE/JOHANNESBURG, Aug 29 2013 (IPS) The Southern African Development Community has had to revisit its plans to raise funding for its ambitious regional development plan in the wake of a cold-shoulder from western nations and multilateral finance institutions.“Nobody has come forward to fund any of the projects we have outlined. I have been to Japan, the United States and the United Kingdom, among other countries,” SADC deputy executive secretary for regional integration Joao Samuel Caholo told IPS.“What is holding us back as SADC is our inability to fund our own priorities and programmes. Therefore, a sustainable funding mechanism has to be established if we are to show that we are committed and progressing.”However, development experts have questioned whether SADC is sufficiently mature to handle ambitious projects such as the Regional Infrastructure Development Master Plan (RIDMP), which is estimated to cost 500 billion dollars.The RIDMP aims to rebuild the region’s deficit road, rail and ports infrastructure, increase its power-generation capacity, and establish communication and weather systems. Access to water, and providing the infrastructure for its distribution is also a priority.“SADC has the potential and we are asking for the goodwill of all member states. Let them put in the seed money,” said the outgoing executive secretary.The long-awaited SADC Development Fund will be modelled on the European Investment Bank and other regional funding ventures. SADC countries will initially contribute 1.2 billion dollars or 51 percent. The private sector and international partners will contribute the remaining 37 and 12 percent respectively.Contributions will be over a five-year period starting in 2013 based on a country’s affordability, institutional capacity and other criteria, which Caholo was reluctant to divulge.“If after five years a country fails to pay its contribution, its shares will be recalled and distributed among the complying states so that the 51 percent shareholding by African states is maintained,” Caholo said.However, a member state will still be able to access funds for its development projects as outlined in the RIDMP.Professor Eltie Links, the chairperson of Doing Business in Africa at South Africa’s University of Stellenbosch Business School, told IPS that “SADC as a regional body would have to think about the objectives and the management of a new financing arm.”“The fact that the region comprises a number of countries with varied levels of development makes it essential that some or other form of assistance be given to economies that are suffering in the development sphere. This, however, can only be afforded if there is sufficient economic and financial muscle in the regional body,” Links said.He said there was no doubt about the need for more infrastructure development in the region, but development aid channelled through SADC “will always be at the cost of the bilateral support given by these same [donor] countries to the region’s needy countries. This aid funding pool has always been finite.”He suggested that donors would need to be convinced that SADC is now at a stage where it can handle multi-billion dollar projects.“SADC’s record as an institution that is well organised and governed has been questioned in the past. To the extent that these perceptions of a body with challenges in governance still persist, it will not get the type of support needed for a project financing arm.“It will also have to demonstrate the ability to administer and manage such funding and projects; something it has not been able to prove beyond any doubt.”This view was echoed by the chief executive officer of the Frontier Advisory consultancy, Martyn Davies, who argued that the SADC secretariat should not be the body that seeks to fund projects, and should instead focus on coordinating and bringing projects to the point of bankability.“SADC, unfortunately, does not do enough in harmonising pursuits towards regional integration, and needs to do more of the basics toward promoting the facilitation of trade and capital flow in the region,” Davies told IPS.“Donors regularly work with SADC, but the more important engagement should be with big business, and this is currently insufficient. There needs to be greater communication from SADC as to its role and also outreach to and engagement with business in order to better implement these goals.”Trade consultant John Mare agreed that initially SADC should play more of a coordination role.Mare told IPS a new funding institution was not needed as “there are already too many others – but SADC can help shape bankable projects and relate them to SADC priorities.”He added that there was a need for better capacities inside SADC to work on such projects and, especially, a greater need for coordinating mechanisms between all stakeholders at national and regional levels.“A key challenge is to improve SADC coordination with other regional organisations in which many SADC members are also members. It is crucially important that this happens – and the tragedy is that SADC is said to have more capacity than many other regional organisations in Africa,” Mare said.He added that while there were many potential projects in Africa, what was missing was driving mechanisms for these projects.Davies agreed there is no shortage of projects, but suggested “the challenge lies in fostering cooperation between the respective governments and bringing the projects to bankability.”“I have never seen a good project that cannot get funding when politics is aligned.”Originally published by IPS.Por uma integração ampliada da América do Sul no século XXIIngrid Sarti, generic troche Daniela Perrotta, Mônica Leite Lessa, Glauber Cardoso Carvalho (Orgs).  E-book. V.1. Rio de Janeiro: Perse, 2013.ISBN 978-85-8196-416-4 (E-book Vol 2)Download (5,7Mb)Ingrid Sarti, Daniela Perrotta, Mônica Leite Lessa, Glauber Cardoso Carvalho (Orgs).    E-book. V.2. Rio de Janeiro: Perse, 2013.ISBN 978-85-8196-416-4 (E-book Vol 2)Download (4,1Mb) Nesta publicação, a primeira e mais longa parte contém reflexões sobre os principais desafios teóricos, políticos e institucionais no contexto de uma avaliação aprofundada dos efeitos da crise mundial do século XXI na dinâmica econômica, jurídica e financeira da integração. Olhares diversos convergem para a importância da crise sistêmica mundial no redesenho da integração, principalmente quando uma União Europeia vulnerável se enfraquece também como modelo de referência histórico de integração que tanto influenciou o debate acadêmico internacional. Discutem-se a viabilidade e os obstáculos na elaboração de uma arquitetura financeira regional que possa dar suporte à estratégia de desenvolvimento e às políticas sociais em curso. A importância dos direitos humanos é tema também contemplado como um dos desafios teóricos e político-institucionais que a integração suscita. A segunda parte, Desenvolvimento e geopolítica, reúne análises critico propositivas sobre um conjunto de temas cruciais para a agenda da integração sulamericana. Em abordagens que extrapolam as fronteiras do Mercosul, o papel da defesa, da energia e da infraestrutura do continente são aspectos estratégicos percebidos em um projeto de desenvolvimento integral. A atuação dos Conselhos da Unasul, em especial o de Defesa e o de Infraestrutura e Planejamento, surgem em análises que apontam a necessidade de diálogo e cooperação no desenho de um planejamento da segurança, da energia e de toda a rede física que viabiliza o encontro entre os povos da região. Fator estratégico apontado é o aproveitamento dos recursos naturais especialmente o amplo potencial e disponibilidade de recursos agrícolas e da água. Numa América do Sul autossuficiente em termos de alimentação e energia (petróleo e recursos hidrelétricos), a proposta é a de que efetivamente se adotem políticas públicas regionais aptas a viabilizar a integração dos recursos energéticos sul-americanos, que, nas palavras de Darc Costa, promovam a autossuficiência e independência em relação a este setor estratégico e de crescente carência mundial, fortalecendo a posição política e econômica da região no concerto das nações, gerando sinergias e benefícios ao desenvolvimento do subcontinente.No segundo volume desta publicação, os recursos estratégicos considerados são os recursos humanos que compõem o marco artístico-cultural e moldam a produção científica e tecnológica da região. Na terceira parte, os textos contribuem para a reflexão sobre os Aspectos da dinâmica cultural da integração. Arte e memória são aqui dotadas de uma dinâmica própria quando a indústria criativa em expansão potencializa novas formas de comunicação, em contexto ainda dominado por tradicionais monopólios dos meios. Na avaliação de Mônica Leite Lessa, que coordenou o Simpósio sobre Cultura, a cultura torna-se um poderoso fator de inclusão e de desenvolvimento econômico e social, de inserção internacional, e de integração regional no contexto das políticas públicas vigentes na América do Sul.O debate sobre as formas de produção do conhecimento e os alcances e obstáculos no processo de criação de tecnologias sociais em sistema de cooperação regional são o destaque na quarta parte da publicação. Para o especialista na análise de tecnologias sociais para inclusão, Hernán Thomas, a escassa orientação das políticas públicas para o atendimento das demandas da população local é um problema a ser enfrentado por toda a coletividade envolvida no processo decisório de Ciência, Tecnologia e Inovação. Reeditamos aqui alguns dos artigos polêmicos que provocaram o debate no XIII Congresso, como não poderia deixar de ocorrer em evento e publicação de um Fórum Universitário, como é o FoMerco. O relato de Daniela Perrotta, coordenadora do Simpósio sobre Universidade é, em si mesmo, uma valiosa contribuição que introduz o leitor a este capítulo que encerra nossa publicação. FoMerco Fórum Universitário Mercosulhttp://www.fomerco.com.br/Por uma integração ampliada da América do Sul no século XXIIngrid Sarti, Daniela Perrotta, Mônica Leite Lessa, Glauber Cardoso Carvalho (Orgs).  E-book. V.1. Rio de Janeiro: Perse, 2013.ISBN 978-85-8196-416-4 (E-book Vol 2)Download (5,7Mb)Ingrid Sarti, Daniela Perrotta, Mônica Leite Lessa, Glauber Cardoso Carvalho (Orgs).    E-book. V.2. Rio de Janeiro: Perse, 2013.ISBN 978-85-8196-416-4 (E-book Vol 2)Download (4,1Mb) Nesta publicação, a primeira e mais longa parte contém reflexões sobre os principais desafios teóricos, políticos e institucionais no contexto de uma avaliação aprofundada dos efeitos da crise mundial do século XXI na dinâmica econômica, jurídica e financeira da integração. Olhares diversos convergem para a importância da crise sistêmica mundial no redesenho da integração, principalmente quando uma União Europeia vulnerável se enfraquece também como modelo de referência histórico de integração que tanto influenciou o debate acadêmico internacional. Discutem-se a viabilidade e os obstáculos na elaboração de uma arquitetura financeira regional que possa dar suporte à estratégia de desenvolvimento e às políticas sociais em curso. A importância dos direitos humanos é tema também contemplado como um dos desafios teóricos e político-institucionais que a integração suscita. A segunda parte, Desenvolvimento e geopolítica, reúne análises critico propositivas sobre um conjunto de temas cruciais para a agenda da integração sulamericana. Em abordagens que extrapolam as fronteiras do Mercosul, o papel da defesa, da energia e da infraestrutura do continente são aspectos estratégicos percebidos em um projeto de desenvolvimento integral. A atuação dos Conselhos da Unasul, em especial o de Defesa e o de Infraestrutura e Planejamento, surgem em análises que apontam a necessidade de diálogo e cooperação no desenho de um planejamento da segurança, da energia e de toda a rede física que viabiliza o encontro entre os povos da região. Fator estratégico apontado é o aproveitamento dos recursos naturais especialmente o amplo potencial e disponibilidade de recursos agrícolas e da água. Numa América do Sul autossuficiente em termos de alimentação e energia (petróleo e recursos hidrelétricos), a proposta é a de que efetivamente se adotem políticas públicas regionais aptas a viabilizar a integração dos recursos energéticos sul-americanos, que, nas palavras de Darc Costa, promovam a autossuficiência e independência em relação a este setor estratégico e de crescente carência mundial, fortalecendo a posição política e econômica da região no concerto das nações, gerando sinergias e benefícios ao desenvolvimento do subcontinente.No segundo volume desta publicação, os recursos estratégicos considerados são os recursos humanos que compõem o marco artístico-cultural e moldam a produção científica e tecnológica da região. Na terceira parte, os textos contribuem para a reflexão sobre os Aspectos da dinâmica cultural da integração. Arte e memória são aqui dotadas de uma dinâmica própria quando a indústria criativa em expansão potencializa novas formas de comunicação, em contexto ainda dominado por tradicionais monopólios dos meios. Na avaliação de Mônica Leite Lessa, que coordenou o Simpósio sobre Cultura, a cultura torna-se um poderoso fator de inclusão e de desenvolvimento econômico e social, de inserção internacional, e de integração regional no contexto das políticas públicas vigentes na América do Sul.O debate sobre as formas de produção do conhecimento e os alcances e obstáculos no processo de criação de tecnologias sociais em sistema de cooperação regional são o destaque na quarta parte da publicação. Para o especialista na análise de tecnologias sociais para inclusão, Hernán Thomas, a escassa orientação das políticas públicas para o atendimento das demandas da população local é um problema a ser enfrentado por toda a coletividade envolvida no processo decisório de Ciência, Tecnologia e Inovação. Reeditamos aqui alguns dos artigos polêmicos que provocaram o debate no XIII Congresso, como não poderia deixar de ocorrer em evento e publicação de um Fórum Universitário, como é o FoMerco. O relato de Daniela Perrotta, coordenadora do Simpósio sobre Universidade é, em si mesmo, uma valiosa contribuição que introduz o leitor a este capítulo que encerra nossa publicação. FoMerco Fórum Universitário Mercosulhttp://www.fomerco.com.br/Por uma integração ampliada da América do Sul no século XXIIngrid Sarti, decease Daniela Perrotta, medical Mônica Leite Lessa, click Glauber Cardoso Carvalho (Orgs).  E-book. V.1. Rio de Janeiro: Perse, 2013.ISBN 978-85-8196-416-4 (E-book Vol 2)Download (5,7Mb)Ingrid Sarti, Daniela Perrotta, Mônica Leite Lessa, Glauber Cardoso Carvalho (Orgs).    E-book. V.2. Rio de Janeiro: Perse, 2013.ISBN 978-85-8196-416-4 (E-book Vol 2)Download (4,1Mb) Nesta publicação, a primeira e mais longa parte contém reflexões sobre os principais desafios teóricos, políticos e institucionais no contexto de uma avaliação aprofundada dos efeitos da crise mundial do século XXI na dinâmica econômica, jurídica e financeira da integração. Olhares diversos convergem para a importância da crise sistêmica mundial no redesenho da integração, principalmente quando uma União Europeia vulnerável se enfraquece também como modelo de referência histórico de integração que tanto influenciou o debate acadêmico internacional. Discutem-se a viabilidade e os obstáculos na elaboração de uma arquitetura financeira regional que possa dar suporte à estratégia de desenvolvimento e às políticas sociais em curso. A importância dos direitos humanos é tema também contemplado como um dos desafios teóricos e político-institucionais que a integração suscita. A segunda parte, Desenvolvimento e geopolítica, reúne análises critico propositivas sobre um conjunto de temas cruciais para a agenda da integração sulamericana. Em abordagens que extrapolam as fronteiras do Mercosul, o papel da defesa, da energia e da infraestrutura do continente são aspectos estratégicos percebidos em um projeto de desenvolvimento integral. A atuação dos Conselhos da Unasul, em especial o de Defesa e o de Infraestrutura e Planejamento, surgem em análises que apontam a necessidade de diálogo e cooperação no desenho de um planejamento da segurança, da energia e de toda a rede física que viabiliza o encontro entre os povos da região. Fator estratégico apontado é o aproveitamento dos recursos naturais especialmente o amplo potencial e disponibilidade de recursos agrícolas e da água. Numa América do Sul autossuficiente em termos de alimentação e energia (petróleo e recursos hidrelétricos), a proposta é a de que efetivamente se adotem políticas públicas regionais aptas a viabilizar a integração dos recursos energéticos sul-americanos, que, nas palavras de Darc Costa, promovam a autossuficiência e independência em relação a este setor estratégico e de crescente carência mundial, fortalecendo a posição política e econômica da região no concerto das nações, gerando sinergias e benefícios ao desenvolvimento do subcontinente.No segundo volume desta publicação, os recursos estratégicos considerados são os recursos humanos que compõem o marco artístico-cultural e moldam a produção científica e tecnológica da região. Na terceira parte, os textos contribuem para a reflexão sobre os Aspectos da dinâmica cultural da integração. Arte e memória são aqui dotadas de uma dinâmica própria quando a indústria criativa em expansão potencializa novas formas de comunicação, em contexto ainda dominado por tradicionais monopólios dos meios. Na avaliação de Mônica Leite Lessa, que coordenou o Simpósio sobre Cultura, a cultura torna-se um poderoso fator de inclusão e de desenvolvimento econômico e social, de inserção internacional, e de integração regional no contexto das políticas públicas vigentes na América do Sul.O debate sobre as formas de produção do conhecimento e os alcances e obstáculos no processo de criação de tecnologias sociais em sistema de cooperação regional são o destaque na quarta parte da publicação. Para o especialista na análise de tecnologias sociais para inclusão, Hernán Thomas, a escassa orientação das políticas públicas para o atendimento das demandas da população local é um problema a ser enfrentado por toda a coletividade envolvida no processo decisório de Ciência, Tecnologia e Inovação. Reeditamos aqui alguns dos artigos polêmicos que provocaram o debate no XIII Congresso, como não poderia deixar de ocorrer em evento e publicação de um Fórum Universitário, como é o FoMerco. O relato de Daniela Perrotta, coordenadora do Simpósio sobre Universidade é, em si mesmo, uma valiosa contribuição que introduz o leitor a este capítulo que encerra nossa publicação. FoMerco Fórum Universitário Mercosulhttp://www.fomerco.com.br/por Marcelo SaguierEl artículo analiza las condiciones en las que la UNASUR podría facilitar una estrategia regional de aprovechamiento de la minería para el desarrollo integral. Ello depende de que logre fortalecer las capacidades de los estados de intervenir en el mercado de minerales, regular la minería y democratizar las políticas mineras.Descargar de: http://rrii.flacso.org.ar/Doc/mineria-para-el-desarrollo-integral-en-la-estrategia-de-unasur/The 18th South Asian Associations for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit took place at Kathmandu, Nepal on November 25 and 26. The heads of the eight states of South Asia took part in the summit.Kathmandu was a showcase of what has happened repeatedly in the three decades since the birth of the SAARC. Leaders make rhetorical speeches and spend time on expensive retreats and sightseeing — then head home forgetting what was said in the summit hall.“SAARC remains largely ineffective, hostage to the political polemics of member-nations particularly India and Pakistan,” said Professor Imtiaz Ahmed of the International Relations department of Dhaka University.A People s SAARC summit was held as an alternative in Kathmandu from November 22-25. About 5000 social and political activists took part its opening ceremony on November 22. There were 71 workshops held to discuss an alternative agenda for SAARC heads of the state to consider.It was organised by People s SAARC Steering Committee, made up of 14 leading activists from all eight countries of the region.Three agreements were supposed to be signed at the 18th SAARC summit to improve road and rail connections, and integrate power trade in the region.The eight-member countries of SAARC are India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Maldives, Bhutan and Sri Lanka. Since its inception in 1985, SAARC signed a number of agreements and conventions, but faltered in translating ideas into collective actions.For an instance, the SAARC Regional Convention on Suppression of Terrorism was inked in 1987, within two years of the group s birth. Extra protocols to the convention updated the strategies in 2004. But, in reality, it was not effective, as several South Asian nations have seen a rise in terrorism.There are other examples as well. The SAARC Preferential Trading Arrangement, which was finalised in 1993, came into effect in 1995. It was followed by the South Asian Free Trade Agreement in 2004. But those remain unimplemented, as issues of non-tariff and para-tariff barriers are yet to be addressed.Moreover, the SAARC Food Bank Agreement was signed in 2007, but it is yet to be implemented. SAARC Development Fund was constituted in 2008 and SAARC Seed Bank in 2011, but none of those has seen much success.Two of the important SAARC countries, Pakistan and India have been close to war on several occasions during the last 30 years of its existence. Border clashes have become a norm in recent months particularly since Indian Prime Minister Nardner Modi has come into power in India.Pakistani Prime Minister Mian Nawaz Sharif and Modi both shook hands and spoke informally for five minutes. That was all what they had to offer each other. The two nuclear-armed nations have already broken the thread of negotiation earlier this year after some clashes at the border of Kashmir, a territory both countries claim as their own.The SAARC summit failed to address the growing threat posed by religious fundamentalists groups. The ascendance of religious extremism and intolerance is a serious challenge to democracy in the region.Pluralism and diversity, which are the hallmark of the region, are under threat from such groups, which often enjoy overt or covert patronage from the state. Women’s rights and other freedoms are the first to be targeted by extremist groups.The region is fraught with conflicts. Security is diminishing and governments’ militaristic response, far from resolving these conflicts, is undermining the rule of law and increasing insecurity.The number of conflict-induced internally displaced persons and refugees in the region have spiraled.People s rights have deteriorated in recent years, in particular, to freedom of association, freedom of expression and the right to protest.Freedom of press remains threatened and the independence of the media is seriously compromised by the growing influence and control of vested interests, including the corporate sector.The preparation for this SAARC summit was going on for months in one of the poorest country in the region. In Kathmandu, there was a big drive to clean most roads on the way to venue. The ruling elite in all SAARC countries very fond of the impressionist strategy of cleaning the roads prior to such meetings.It will be business as usual after the event is over. I personally saw soldiers cleaning the roads of Kathmandu three days before the main event. This is a rare scene in most countries of South Asia. Soldiers are normally there to rule, not clean the streets.The People s SAARC summit issued a joint declaration after holding all of its seminars, workshops and other events to formulate a joint strategy and point of view. It reaffirmed commitments to justice, peace, security, human rights and democracy in the region on the basis of equality for all and the elimination of all forms of discrimination.The declaration said that peoples must unite to challenge the systematic and structural marginalisation and exclusion of people through the dominant neoliberal economic model.This model is violently restructuring the region’s economic policies and cultural life, and undermining and devaluing the values and institutions of democracy.We have come together to resist the threat to democracy from chauvinism, sectarianism, and communalism. Increased securitisation and militarisation of states and society in the name of combating terrorism and defending national security and increasing arbitrary detention, torture, custodial rape and extra-judicial killings have reduced space for democratic dissent and freedoms.We have come together to respond to new challenges that have emerged in the form of climate change and environmental degradation which are of transnational dimensions; extraction of natural resources; food, water and energy crisis; and resource grab by governments and corporates.We must fight growing violence against women and girls, lower caste members, various tribal groups and indigenous peoples. Must must oppose discrimination against all minorities, including religious, sexual, linguistic, cultural and ethnic minorities, persons with disabilities, migrants and refugees.The systematic and structural processes and practices of discrimination further reinforce and reconstitute traditional forms of exploitative and oppressive structures. This includes patriarchy and caste, which are recreated in new forms, in the name of progress, modernisation and reform.The People s SAARC noted the renewed focus on SAARC by member countries and believes its stated goals of “deeper integration for peace and prosperity” is possible only when this cooperation goes beyond the interests of regional elites and corporations.It must allow socio-economic empowerment and enable the people of South Asia to build their regional identity. It must push just and sustainable development towards re-shaping the democratic institutions.The official SAARC summit issued a long statement filled with empty word on issues of regional cooperation, combating terrorism, poverty alleviation, development goals, food security, the environment, women s rights and access to health and education.The South Asian region features some of the world s worst human development indicators. According to conservative estimates, 44% of the population of India lives in poverty on less than US$1 a day.In Nepal, Pakistan and Bangladesh, the statistics are slightly better — at 38%, 31% and 29% respectively. In Bhutan and Afghanistan, where data is unavailable, the proportion of people living on US$1 a day or less is likely comparable with India in Bhutan s case and much higher in Afghanistan.Internationally, South Asia has the worst indicators for female illiteracy and has very poor rates of child mortality.The reason is simple. All the countries of South Asia are implementing neoliberal agendas. They are busy in privatising and taking loans from International Monetary Fund and World Bank that come with neoliberal conditions.Capitalism in all the countries has ensured there is a great divide among the population. Some of the world s most most rich people can be found in India as well as the most poor. Feudalism remain intact in various forms, while religious fundamentalism has emerged one of the region s most threatening challenges.In India and Pakistan, there is race to increase military spending and other countries are not far behind. There is no education for all, but Indian and Pakistani rulers are proud to be part of so-called nuclear nation club.The SAARC process has become a laughing stock despite the high expectations the summit built after the friendly gestures from all the head of the states.It is the process of the People s SAARC that can have a positive effect by bringing together the real representatives of the people. An integrated, nuclear-free, nuclear free South Asia is still a dream to be realised.[Farooq Tariq is a member of the core committee of the People s SAARC and is general secretary of Pakistan s Awami Workers Party.]Like the article? Subscribe to Green Left now! You can also like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.El artículo analiza las condiciones en las que la UNASUR podría facilitar una estrategia regional de aprovechamiento de la minería para el desarrollo integral. Ello depende de que logre fortalecer las capacidades de los estados de intervenir en el mercado de minerales, see regular la minería y democratizar las políticas mineras.Descargar de: http://rrii.flacso.org.ar/Doc/mineria-para-el-desarrollo-integral-en-la-estrategia-de-unasur/por Marcelo SaguierEl artículo analiza las condiciones en las que la UNASUR podría facilitar una estrategia regional de aprovechamiento de la minería para el desarrollo integral. Ello depende de que logre fortalecer las capacidades de los estados de intervenir en el mercado de minerales, regular la minería y democratizar las políticas mineras.Descargar de: http://rrii.flacso.org.ar/Doc/mineria-para-el-desarrollo-integral-en-la-estrategia-de-unasur/por Marcelo SaguierEl artículo analiza las condiciones en las que la UNASUR podría facilitar una estrategia regional de aprovechamiento de la minería para el desarrollo integral. Ello depende de que logre fortalecer las capacidades de los estados de intervenir en el mercado de minerales, regular la minería y democratizar las políticas mineras.Descargar de: http://rrii.flacso.org.ar/Doc/mineria-para-el-desarrollo-integral-en-la-estrategia-de-unasur/por Marcelo SaguierEl artículo analiza las condiciones en las que la UNASUR podría facilitar una estrategia regional de aprovechamiento de la minería para el desarrollo integral. Ello depende de que logre fortalecer las capacidades de los estados de intervenir en el mercado de minerales, thumb regular la minería y democratizar las políticas mineras.Descargar de: http://rrii.flacso.org.ar/Doc/mineria-para-el-desarrollo-integral-en-la-estrategia-de-unasur/por Marcelo SaguierEl artículo analiza las condiciones en las que la UNASUR podría facilitar una estrategia regional de aprovechamiento de la minería para el desarrollo integral. Ello depende de que logre fortalecer las capacidades de los estados de intervenir en el mercado de minerales, regular la minería y democratizar las políticas mineras.Descargar de: http://rrii.flacso.org.ar/Doc/mineria-para-el-desarrollo-integral-en-la-estrategia-de-unasur/ Crises, like those gripping Europe, tend to expose the process and practice of regional governance as technocratic and elite-driven. But citizens and civil society may well demand more voice and power, in a politicisation of regions.In a globalizing world, where old and new evolutions challenge traditional decision making and (nation) states find it increasingly difficult to govern political processes and economic transactions that are ever more cross-boundary in nature, supranational regional governance has proven a powerful tool to address such growing complexity.As a meso-level between the state and a hypothetical global government, regional organizations have been purposefully created with a view to providing more effective management structures to deal with phenomena and processes transcending the borders of national communities. Traditionally, trans-frontier natural resources were the first common goods to be placed under the administration of regional organizations. For instance, the oldest existing regional organization in the world is the Central Commission for the Navigation of the Rhine, an authority established in Europe during the 1815 Congress of Vienna. Its purpose was to manage cross-boundary transports along the river Rhine, which cuts across France, Germany, Switzerland and the Netherlands, and – in spite of its limited political clout – it set an important precedent for the future evolutions of European integration. The forerunner of the European Economic Community, which then transformed into the European Union, was the European Coal and Steal Community, a supranational authority created to provide common jurisdiction over the most fundamental natural resources of the continent, whose direct control had historically been the main source of conflict in the region.Nowadays, there is a virtually endless list of regional organizations operating in divers sectors, entrusted with varying degrees of power and decision-making authority. Although most of them only perform specific functions (e.g. natural resources management, conflict prevention, legal advice, customs control, policing, etc.), there has been an increase in the establishment of ‘general purpose’ regional organizations, of which the EU is the most well-known and developed example. Some of them have evolved out of specific trade agreements (e.g. free trade areas), such as the Common Market of the South (Mercosur), while others have been created with a view to guaranteeing security and development, such as the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the African Union (AU). As famously remarked by P. Katzenstein, the contemporary international arena may very well develop into a ‘world of regions’, where openness and cooperation are reinforced by growth in cross-border exchanges and global transformations in interstate relations.Regions and crisesAccording to Karl Deutsch, one of the forefathers of regional studies, the most fundamental example of region-building is constituted by so-called ‘security communities’, groupings of countries that share institutional systems to avoid internal conflicts and address common external threats. In this vein, the existence of certain threats (often in the form of fully-fledged conflicts) has been instrumental to the creation of regional organizations. The European integration project emerged out of the ashes of World War II. The Organization of African Unity (OAU) was created after the end of colonialism while its successor, the AU, was established to guarantee peace and development in a traditionally troubled continent. Similarly, ASEAN was founded to oppose the advancement of communism in South East Asia and strengthen the small countries of the region vis-à-vis their strong and powerful neighbours.Supranational regionalism and crises have always been intimately connected, both empirically and theoretically. Yet, although most theoretical approaches appear to discuss crises as potential springboards for more and better regional cooperation/integration, the opposite is equally true. For instance, De Gaulle’s critical stance vis-à-vis the process of European integration (which led to a prolonged institutional crisis in the 1960s) prompted Ernst Haas, the founder of the neo-functionalist approach, to conclude that regional integration theory was ‘obsolete’. The current sovereign-debt crisis (often dubbed as the Euro-crisis) is raising a lot of doubts about the capacity of the EU to weather the storm and re-launch integration of the European continent. Public discourse not only in Europe, but also in the rest of the world, hints at the fact that regional cooperation/ integration does not deal well with ‘rainy days’, when member states tend to become more inward looking and seek refuge in short-sighted nationalism.The word ‘crisis’ derives from the ancient Greek verb krinein, which means to ‘separate, decide and judge’. As such, it therefore describes events or phenomena that produce change and lead to decisions. Looking at most current events, it is not easy to gauge the extent to which these crises may lead to more regional cooperation/integration or, conversely, to gradual/abrupt disintegration. However, there is little doubt that they present fundamental turning points in the evolution of regional cooperation/integration and pose significant challenges to all stakeholders involved. At the same time, they may very well become opportunities to reassess the usefulness of supranational regions and prospectively re-design a world of new regions.Euro-crisis and the weakening of the European modelCrises are revelatory moments. They break the repetitive continuity of ordinary processes and present us with unexpected threats and opportunities. As disruptive events, they force us to rethink conventional wisdom and become imaginative. In the evolution of political institutions, crises have been fundamental turning points opening up new space for governance innovations or, by contrast, reducing the spectrum of available options. They have ushered in phases of progress and prosperity or plummeted our societies into the darkness of parochialism and backwardness.The current Euro-crisis may have a significant long-term impact on the ‘acceptability’ of regional integration as an end-goal for regionalism not only in Europe, but also in other regions. If the European project fails to deliver the expected outcomes of stability, well-being and solidarity, then it is likely that other regions will refrain from pushing for full-blown integration, perhaps privileging less demanding forms of cooperation. It also appears as if the EU ‘model’ of integration has been severely eroded by the global financial crisis and the turmoil in the Eurozone. There is indeed growing criticism of Eurocentric approaches to regionalism, not only among scholars, but also among leading policy makers. Especially, emerging powers in Africa, Asia and South America are becoming more assertive about the need to find different ways to promote regional governance in a world in which traditional power distributions are being fundamentally called into question. Moreover, the recent popular revolutions in North Africa and the Middle East are likely to reshape geostrategic equilibria in the Mediterranean and possibly usher in a new phase of regional cooperation within the Arab world and also with Europe.  Citizens and regional governanceCitizens have been the underdogs of regionalism. From Europe, to Africa, Asia and Latin America, civil society has largely been on the receiving end of region-building processes. More often than not, civil society has been intentionally sidelined, while some sympathetic non-governmental organisations have been given the instrumental task of supporting institutions in their efforts at building a regional ‘identity’. In spite of rhetorical references to the importance of civic participation, regionalism has largely developed ‘without the citizens’.Yet contemporary crises seem to bring ‘the people’ back into the picture, at least insofar as various attempts at regional cooperation and integration stumble upon the ideas, values and expectations of the citizens. The Euro-crisis is not just a matter of scarce liquidity and overexposure of a few national governments and most private banks. It is first and foremost a legitimacy crisis, which is revealing the fundamental limitations of an elite-driven regionalism model. Not disputing the pivotal role that European political elites played in setting the integration process in motion, there is little doubt that ‘deep integration’ will only be achieved when European citizens will have a say over the type of developmental trajectory that the EU should adopt as well as its ultimate goals. Looking at the astonishing amount of public resources channelled to rescue private banks in comparison to the harsh austerity plans enforced on allegedly profligate Member States, one cannot help but ask the question: what actual interests drive regionalism in the world?Most observers have been traditionally looking at regionalization processes as politically neutral phenomena in international affairs. Research in this field has been generally restricted to the ‘quantity’ of regionalism, rather than its ‘quality’. Whether it is to explain the gradual devolution of authority from nation states to supranational institutions (as is the case with neo-functionalism) or whether it is to demonstrate the continuous bargaining process involving national governments (as is the case with intergovernmentalism), mainstream approaches to regional cooperation and integration have refrained from looking at the quality of regionalization processes. Will there be more or fewer regions in the world? Will regional institutions replace the nation state? Will regional governance become predominant in the years to come? Granted, these are very important questions and deserve to be examined in depth, especially in academic circles. Yet, the current crises force us to assess the state of regionalism in the world not only in terms of its predominance and diffusion, but also – and more importantly – in terms of how it contributes, if any, towards the well-being of our societies.  Most ‘models’ and ‘practices’ of regionalism have tended to exclude the diversity of voices and roles in society. They have often served the specific interests of ruling elites (as in Latin America and Africa), the ambitions of hegemonic actors (as in Europe and Asia) or the agendas of industrial and financial powers. Moreover, through their apparently neutral technocratic character, most attempts at regional cooperation and integration have aimed to obscure the fact that there are always winners and losers in regionalism processes. This top-down model is being increasingly challenged. Overlapping crises and the redistribution of power at the global level call into question the capacity of regions to deliver on their promises, thus unveiling the unavoidable political character of any model of regionalism. In response to the growing cost of regionalism, citizens want to have more say over future regional trajectories and exercise their democratic powers. As a consequence, regionalism is evolving from a ‘closed’ process, designed and packaged by a small circle of political and economic elites, to an ‘open’ process, in which democratic participation and accountability are playing an ever more important role. Borrowing from the jargon of Internet users, one may say that regions are transitioning from a 1.0 phase dominated by technocrats to a 2.0 stage characterised by horizontal networks, alternative models and citizens’ contestations.The EU, undoubtedly the most advanced and successful example of regionalism in the world, is now experiencing the direst consequences of such a transition. Amid rising unemployment, social malaise and growing discontent for the lack of accountability of national and regional politics, millions of citizens have been protesting against the Union and its political and economic agenda. Contrary to what eurosceptics would have us believe, these citizens do not call for less Europe: they want a different Europe. They would like regional integration to be more about connecting cultures and individuals and less about supporting capital. They would like their regional institutions to focus on helping the unemployed rather than bailing out bankrupt banks. They would like to see more solidarity across classes and generations, rather than less. They would like cooperation to be about building a different future instead of reshuffling old ideas. The future of regionalism may very well entail a growing ‘politicisation’ of regions, whereby citizens and civil society demand more voice and power in influencing not just general principles and values, but also the long-term political trajectories of their regions.Source: Open DemocracyLILONGWE/JOHANNESBURG, Aug 29 2013 (IPS) The Southern African Development Community has had to revisit its plans to raise funding for its ambitious regional development plan in the wake of a cold-shoulder from western nations and multilateral finance institutions.“Nobody has come forward to fund any of the projects we have outlined. I have been to Japan, the United States and the United Kingdom, among other countries,” SADC deputy executive secretary for regional integration Joao Samuel Caholo told IPS.“What is holding us back as SADC is our inability to fund our own priorities and programmes. Therefore, a sustainable funding mechanism has to be established if we are to show that we are committed and progressing.”However, development experts have questioned whether SADC is sufficiently mature to handle ambitious projects such as the Regional Infrastructure Development Master Plan (RIDMP), which is estimated to cost 500 billion dollars.The RIDMP aims to rebuild the region’s deficit road, rail and ports infrastructure, increase its power-generation capacity, and establish communication and weather systems. Access to water, and providing the infrastructure for its distribution is also a priority.“SADC has the potential and we are asking for the goodwill of all member states. Let them put in the seed money,” said the outgoing executive secretary.The long-awaited SADC Development Fund will be modelled on the European Investment Bank and other regional funding ventures. SADC countries will initially contribute 1.2 billion dollars or 51 percent. The private sector and international partners will contribute the remaining 37 and 12 percent respectively.Contributions will be over a five-year period starting in 2013 based on a country’s affordability, institutional capacity and other criteria, which Caholo was reluctant to divulge.“If after five years a country fails to pay its contribution, its shares will be recalled and distributed among the complying states so that the 51 percent shareholding by African states is maintained,” Caholo said.However, a member state will still be able to access funds for its development projects as outlined in the RIDMP.Professor Eltie Links, the chairperson of Doing Business in Africa at South Africa’s University of Stellenbosch Business School, told IPS that “SADC as a regional body would have to think about the objectives and the management of a new financing arm.”“The fact that the region comprises a number of countries with varied levels of development makes it essential that some or other form of assistance be given to economies that are suffering in the development sphere. This, however, can only be afforded if there is sufficient economic and financial muscle in the regional body,” Links said.He said there was no doubt about the need for more infrastructure development in the region, but development aid channelled through SADC “will always be at the cost of the bilateral support given by these same [donor] countries to the region’s needy countries. This aid funding pool has always been finite.”He suggested that donors would need to be convinced that SADC is now at a stage where it can handle multi-billion dollar projects.“SADC’s record as an institution that is well organised and governed has been questioned in the past. To the extent that these perceptions of a body with challenges in governance still persist, it will not get the type of support needed for a project financing arm.“It will also have to demonstrate the ability to administer and manage such funding and projects; something it has not been able to prove beyond any doubt.”This view was echoed by the chief executive officer of the Frontier Advisory consultancy, Martyn Davies, who argued that the SADC secretariat should not be the body that seeks to fund projects, and should instead focus on coordinating and bringing projects to the point of bankability.“SADC, unfortunately, does not do enough in harmonising pursuits towards regional integration, and needs to do more of the basics toward promoting the facilitation of trade and capital flow in the region,” Davies told IPS.“Donors regularly work with SADC, but the more important engagement should be with big business, and this is currently insufficient. There needs to be greater communication from SADC as to its role and also outreach to and engagement with business in order to better implement these goals.”Trade consultant John Mare agreed that initially SADC should play more of a coordination role.Mare told IPS a new funding institution was not needed as “there are already too many others – but SADC can help shape bankable projects and relate them to SADC priorities.”He added that there was a need for better capacities inside SADC to work on such projects and, especially, a greater need for coordinating mechanisms between all stakeholders at national and regional levels.“A key challenge is to improve SADC coordination with other regional organisations in which many SADC members are also members. It is crucially important that this happens – and the tragedy is that SADC is said to have more capacity than many other regional organisations in Africa,” Mare said.He added that while there were many potential projects in Africa, what was missing was driving mechanisms for these projects.Davies agreed there is no shortage of projects, but suggested “the challenge lies in fostering cooperation between the respective governments and bringing the projects to bankability.”“I have never seen a good project that cannot get funding when politics is aligned.”Originally published by IPS. Author: Ilene Grabel Working Paper, Political Economy Research Institute, University of Massachusetts, malady June 2012Abstract: The current crisis is proving to be productive of institutional experimentation in the realm of financial architecture(s) in the developing world. The drive toward experimentation arose out of the East Asian financial crisis of 1997?98, which provoked some developing countries to take steps to insulate themselves from future turbulence, IMF sanctions, and intrusions into policy space. I argue that there are diverse, unambiguous indications that the global financial architecture is now evolving in ways that contribute to a new institutional heterogeneity. In some policy and institutional innovations we see the emergence of financial architecture that is far less US- and IMF?centric than has been the norm over the past several decades. Moreover, the growing economic might, self? confidence and assertiveness on the part of policymakers in some developing countries (and, at the same time, the attendant uncertainties surrounding the economies of the USA and Europe) is disrupting the traditional modes of financial governance and dispersing power across the global financial system.In making these arguments it is important not to overstate the case. It is far too early to be certain that lasting, radical changes in the global financial architecture are afoot, or that the developments now underway are secure. Nor am I arguing that all regions of the developing world either enjoy the opportunity and/or have the means to participate in the process of reshaping the global financial architecture. Rather, my goal is more modest. I show here that today there are numerous opportunities for policy and institutional experimentation, and there are clear signs that these opportunities are being exploited in a variety of distinct ways. As compared to any other moment over the last several decades, we see clear signs of fissures, realignments and institutional changes in the structures of financial governance across the global South. I have elsewhere characterized this current state of affairs as one of “productive incoherence.” I use this term to capture the proliferation of institutional innovations and policy responses that have been given impetus by the crisis, and the ways in which the current crisis has started to erode the stifling neo?liberal consensus that has secured and deepened neo?liberalism across the developing world over the past several decades.The productive incoherence of the current crisis is apparent in the emergence of a denser, multi-layered and more heterogeneous Southern financial architecture. The current crisis has induced a broadening of the mission and reach of some existing regional, sub?regional, bilateral, and national financial institutions and arrangements, and has stimulated discussions of entirely new arrangements. In some limited cases these institutions and arrangements substitute for the Bretton Woods institutions. This substitution is most pronounced in cases when the Bretton Woods institutions have failed or have been slow to respond to calls for support, or when they have responded to such requests with conditionality that has been overly constraining of national policy space. But in most cases, the institutions and arrangements that I discuss here complement the global financial architecture. I will argue in what follows that recent changes in the Southern financial landscape increase its potential to promote financial stability and resilience, support the development of long-run productive capacities, advance aims consistent with human development, and expand national policy space. Moreover, the emergence of a vibrant Southern financial architecture is not simply additive. Rather it may prove transformative, insofar as the Bretton Woods institutions are pushed to respond to long?standing concerns regarding their legitimacy, governance, and conditionalities.Download full reportBy Tjiurimo HengariThe 19th summit of the African Union (AU) from 9-16 July in Addis Ababa will in all likelihood not be ordinary, purchase as it will mark a decade since the transformation of the Organisation for African Unity (OAU) into the AU in 2002 in Durban, South Africa. Crucially, ten years on, the July summit theme ‘Boosting Intra-African Trade’ captures a new agenda and the importance of economic growth and trade integration as essential aspects in the continent’s integration in the global economy.While the OAU manifestly fulfilled its role and historical mandate of decolonisation, the vision and mandate of the AU is largely premised on development, including economic and political integration of the African continent. In light of this developmental premise and emphasis in its Constitutive Act, which entered into force on May 26, 2002, the AU represents a major shift from the legal, political and institutional framework of its predecessor.With the summit looming, it is fitting to debate and reflect how this organization has fared a decade on, both in light of its promise of new principles, new thinking, including new approaches to African challenges and governance. These principles and approaches seek to capture on a wide continuum, the nexus between democracy, good governance on the one hand, and on the other Africa’s economic development and integration in the global economy.Looking back: Ten years since the foundation of the AUOver the past decade, international relations have gone through profound change. The rise of emerging powers, including China and Brazil have led to a momentous shift, creating new opportunities and threats in Africa’s engagement in international affairs. The global economic contraction in Europe, which started with the global financial crisis in late 2007, has altered the traditional relationship Africa had with key western powers. It has opened Africa’s commodity economies to possible shocks, thus forcing African leaders to accelerate trade integration on the continent, while seeking new partnerships in the developing world.    On governance, it should be mentioned that the majority of Africa’s 54 states are to varying degrees democratic. There have been slow but steady developments with regard to forms and shapes of democratic governance.The African Union, for instance, has taken an explicit decision not to recognise countries in which civilian governments have been overthrown by a coup d’état. Also, the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), flowing out of the New Economic Partnership for Development (NEPAD) has as its explicit rationale the strengthening of democracies and the accountability mechanisms within it. In Côte d’Ivoire, a democratically elected president finally assumed office in 2011 after a decade of political deadlock and civil strive. In one of Africa’s more or less stable democracies, Senegal, a head of state seeking a de facto third term lost an election early this year and accepted defeat graciously.Significant progress has been made in creating the institutional infrastructure and processes that are necessary for a more efficient African Union. In addition to these, the African Union has been undertaking crucial peacekeeping missions in various parts of Africa, including Burundi, Sudan and Somalia. The modest successes of these missions can be attributed to good foreign policy collaboration and momentum between Africa’s driver countries, including Senegal, South Africa, Nigeria and Algeria.However, as the years wore on, this momentum, also visible in the conceptualisation of Nepad and the APRM seems to have been lost. Moreover, the absence of a coherent state-led, but widely accepted AU approach with regard to conflict resolution and management has created a vacuum in what the AU can do as an institution.  From an institutional viewpoint, relationships and coordinating mechanisms across diverse issue-areas have been built with various international organisations, including the United Nations and the European Union. Moreover, through the African Union, various attempts had been made with regard to streamlining the activities of regional organisations and economic communities in line with the objectives of the African Union.Even if modest in their successes, interventions and the legitimisation of the AU’s cross-cutting agenda have allowed Africa to focus on the key challenges of governance, education and economic growth. These have without doubt legitimised the AU as the principal interlocutor in African affairs, worth strengthening.It deserves mention, however, that the AU is still a work in progress and the past decade of its existence did not mask contradictions between what the AU ambitiously purports to be on the one hand, and the structural and institutional impasse in which it finds itself when it comes to achieving Africa’s developmental aims on the other. A continental institution is a sum of its composite parts. Therefore, it can only be efficient if the constituting membership allows it to function in line with its charter thereby assuming and building its own institutional dynamism and organisational efficiency.In light of these challenges, the roadmap that emerges out of the upcoming summit in Addis ought to be transformational and should crucially define the aspirations of the African Union for the next ten years. It will be a missed opportunity if it turns out to be just another summit.Three Areas for AttentionThree aspects ought to enjoy specific attention. First, in line with its theme the summit should put explicit emphasis on the translation of modest democratic governance into concrete developmental deliverables in African countries. Even if economic growth has been positive over the past decade in many countries, this has not put a dent on widespread poverty and underdevelopment. This does suggest new bridges to be built between African driver countries as a means to bring renewed impetus to Africa’s developmental agenda and coordinated engagement with international actors on economic, environmental and social developmental issues.Second, more attention should be placed than what has been otherwise the case thus far on the strengthening of regional economic communities as essential anchors in matters of peace, security and development. The past ten years have shown that regional organisations are the best platforms to promote peace, security and development.As a case in point, under difficult circumstances, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) had undertaken commendable work in the promotion of peace in that troubled region. The AU should reinforce such successes by playing a facilitator role based on clearly defined values, norms and objectives. For this to happen, the institutional capacity of the African Union should be strengthened, with more powers devolved to the Commission. A strengthened Commission would allow the institution to develop a coercive soft-power role, while giving it a much more active character in the diffusion of agreed continental norms and objectives.Third, with the anomaly of two candidates, one from a small country, Jean Ping of Gabon and Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma from a big country, South Africa contesting the chairmanship of the AU commission, the summit should provide clear guidelines and principles around leadership of the Commission.ConclusionIn conclusion, vague and ambitious declarations are less likely to create a more solid African Union as a pivot in Africa’s integration in the global economy. Much of what emerges out of Addis depends on how pragmatic and programmatic the vision of the AU is going forward. African leaders should leave the summit with clearly defined, but manageable outcomes, creating a new dynamic that would address Africa’s chronic challenges.Tjiurimo HENGARI is the Head of the South African Foreign Poliy and African Drivers Programme at the South African Institute of International Affairs, based at the University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. Source: SAIIABy Tjiurimo HengariThe 19th summit of the African Union (AU) from 9-16 July in Addis Ababa will in all likelihood not be ordinary, as it will mark a decade since the transformation of the Organisation for African Unity (OAU) into the AU in 2002 in Durban, South Africa. Crucially, ten years on, the July summit theme ‘Boosting Intra-African Trade’ captures a new agenda and the importance of economic growth and trade integration as essential aspects in the continent’s integration in the global economy.While the OAU manifestly fulfilled its role and historical mandate of decolonisation, the vision and mandate of the AU is largely premised on development, including economic and political integration of the African continent. In light of this developmental premise and emphasis in its Constitutive Act, which entered into force on May 26, 2002, the AU represents a major shift from the legal, political and institutional framework of its predecessor.With the summit looming, it is fitting to debate and reflect how this organization has fared a decade on, both in light of its promise of new principles, new thinking, including new approaches to African challenges and governance. These principles and approaches seek to capture on a wide continuum, the nexus between democracy, good governance on the one hand, and on the other Africa’s economic development and integration in the global economy.Looking back: Ten years since the foundation of the AUOver the past decade, international relations have gone through profound change. The rise of emerging powers, including China and Brazil have led to a momentous shift, creating new opportunities and threats in Africa’s engagement in international affairs. The global economic contraction in Europe, which started with the global financial crisis in late 2007, has altered the traditional relationship Africa had with key western powers. It has opened Africa’s commodity economies to possible shocks, thus forcing African leaders to accelerate trade integration on the continent, while seeking new partnerships in the developing world.    On governance, it should be mentioned that the majority of Africa’s 54 states are to varying degrees democratic. There have been slow but steady developments with regard to forms and shapes of democratic governance.The African Union, for instance, has taken an explicit decision not to recognise countries in which civilian governments have been overthrown by a coup d’état. Also, the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), flowing out of the New Economic Partnership for Development (NEPAD) has as its explicit rationale the strengthening of democracies and the accountability mechanisms within it. In Côte d’Ivoire, a democratically elected president finally assumed office in 2011 after a decade of political deadlock and civil strive. In one of Africa’s more or less stable democracies, Senegal, a head of state seeking a de facto third term lost an election early this year and accepted defeat graciously.Significant progress has been made in creating the institutional infrastructure and processes that are necessary for a more efficient African Union. In addition to these, the African Union has been undertaking crucial peacekeeping missions in various parts of Africa, including Burundi, Sudan and Somalia. The modest successes of these missions can be attributed to good foreign policy collaboration and momentum between Africa’s driver countries, including Senegal, South Africa, Nigeria and Algeria.However, as the years wore on, this momentum, also visible in the conceptualisation of Nepad and the APRM seems to have been lost. Moreover, the absence of a coherent state-led, but widely accepted AU approach with regard to conflict resolution and management has created a vacuum in what the AU can do as an institution.  From an institutional viewpoint, relationships and coordinating mechanisms across diverse issue-areas have been built with various international organisations, including the United Nations and the European Union. Moreover, through the African Union, various attempts had been made with regard to streamlining the activities of regional organisations and economic communities in line with the objectives of the African Union.Even if modest in their successes, interventions and the legitimisation of the AU’s cross-cutting agenda have allowed Africa to focus on the key challenges of governance, education and economic growth. These have without doubt legitimised the AU as the principal interlocutor in African affairs, worth strengthening.It deserves mention, however, that the AU is still a work in progress and the past decade of its existence did not mask contradictions between what the AU ambitiously purports to be on the one hand, and the structural and institutional impasse in which it finds itself when it comes to achieving Africa’s developmental aims on the other. A continental institution is a sum of its composite parts. Therefore, it can only be efficient if the constituting membership allows it to function in line with its charter thereby assuming and building its own institutional dynamism and organisational efficiency.In light of these challenges, the roadmap that emerges out of the upcoming summit in Addis ought to be transformational and should crucially define the aspirations of the African Union for the next ten years. It will be a missed opportunity if it turns out to be just another summit.Three Areas for AttentionThree aspects ought to enjoy specific attention. First, in line with its theme the summit should put explicit emphasis on the translation of modest democratic governance into concrete developmental deliverables in African countries. Even if economic growth has been positive over the past decade in many countries, this has not put a dent on widespread poverty and underdevelopment. This does suggest new bridges to be built between African driver countries as a means to bring renewed impetus to Africa’s developmental agenda and coordinated engagement with international actors on economic, environmental and social developmental issues.Second, more attention should be placed than what has been otherwise the case thus far on the strengthening of regional economic communities as essential anchors in matters of peace, security and development. The past ten years have shown that regional organisations are the best platforms to promote peace, security and development.As a case in point, under difficult circumstances, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) had undertaken commendable work in the promotion of peace in that troubled region. The AU should reinforce such successes by playing a facilitator role based on clearly defined values, norms and objectives. For this to happen, the institutional capacity of the African Union should be strengthened, with more powers devolved to the Commission. A strengthened Commission would allow the institution to develop a coercive soft-power role, while giving it a much more active character in the diffusion of agreed continental norms and objectives.Third, with the anomaly of two candidates, one from a small country, Jean Ping of Gabon and Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma from a big country, South Africa contesting the chairmanship of the AU commission, the summit should provide clear guidelines and principles around leadership of the Commission.ConclusionIn conclusion, vague and ambitious declarations are less likely to create a more solid African Union as a pivot in Africa’s integration in the global economy. Much of what emerges out of Addis depends on how pragmatic and programmatic the vision of the AU is going forward. African leaders should leave the summit with clearly defined, but manageable outcomes, creating a new dynamic that would address Africa’s chronic challenges.Tjiurimo HENGARI is the Head of the South African Foreign Poliy and African Drivers Programme at the South African Institute of International Affairs, based at the University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. 9th Southern Africa Civil Society Forum (10-14 August 2013, link Lilongwe, Malawi)Representatives of civil society organizations from across the Southern Africa Region, met under the auspices of the Fellowship of Christian Councils of Southern Africa (FOCCISA), Southern Africa Development Community – Council of Non-Governmental Organizations (SADC-­?CNGO) and the Southern Africa Trade Union Coordination Council (SATUCC) between the 11th to the 14th of August 2013 at the 9th Southern Africa Civil Society Forum issue this statement to the SADC Heads of State and Government Summit scheduled for the 17th?18th August 2013.Read the Declaration SADC We want: acting together -­ ensuring accountability! The themes covered in the Declaration include: GOVERNANCE ACCOUNTABILITY* On Democratic Elections* On Governance* On Peace and Security* On Countries TOWARDS AN INTEGRATED REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT FRAMEWORK* On Finance for Development* On Trade and Decent Work TAKING FORWARD SADC WE WANT CAMPAIGN SOCIAL AND HUMAN DEVELOPMENT* On Poverty Development* On Climate Change* On Social Protection* On HIV and AIDS* On Land and Natural Resources* On Gender* On Indigenous Peoples* On Water* On child rights Lorenzo FioramontiCrises, like those gripping Europe, tend to expose the process and practice of regional governance as technocratic and elite-driven. But citizens and civil society may well demand more voice and power, in a politicisation of regions.In a globalizing world, where old and new evolutions challenge traditional decision making and (nation) states find it increasingly difficult to govern political processes and economic transactions that are ever more cross-boundary in nature, supranational regional governance has proven a powerful tool to address such growing complexity.As a meso-level between the state and a hypothetical global government, regional organizations have been purposefully created with a view to providing more effective management structures to deal with phenomena and processes transcending the borders of national communities. Traditionally, trans-frontier natural resources were the first common goods to be placed under the administration of regional organizations. For instance, the oldest existing regional organization in the world is the Central Commission for the Navigation of the Rhine, an authority established in Europe during the 1815 Congress of Vienna. Its purpose was to manage cross-boundary transports along the river Rhine, which cuts across France, Germany, Switzerland and the Netherlands, and – in spite of its limited political clout – it set an important precedent for the future evolutions of European integration. The forerunner of the European Economic Community, which then transformed into the European Union, was the European Coal and Steal Community, a supranational authority created to provide common jurisdiction over the most fundamental natural resources of the continent, whose direct control had historically been the main source of conflict in the region.Nowadays, there is a virtually endless list of regional organizations operating in divers sectors, entrusted with varying degrees of power and decision-making authority. Although most of them only perform specific functions (e.g. natural resources management, conflict prevention, legal advice, customs control, policing, etc.), there has been an increase in the establishment of ‘general purpose’ regional organizations, of which the EU is the most well-known and developed example. Some of them have evolved out of specific trade agreements (e.g. free trade areas), such as the Common Market of the South (Mercosur), while others have been created with a view to guaranteeing security and development, such as the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the African Union (AU). As famously remarked by P. Katzenstein, the contemporary international arena may very well develop into a ‘world of regions’, where openness and cooperation are reinforced by growth in cross-border exchanges and global transformations in interstate relations.Regions and crisesAccording to Karl Deutsch, one of the forefathers of regional studies, the most fundamental example of region-building is constituted by so-called ‘security communities’, groupings of countries that share institutional systems to avoid internal conflicts and address common external threats. In this vein, the existence of certain threats (often in the form of fully-fledged conflicts) has been instrumental to the creation of regional organizations. The European integration project emerged out of the ashes of World War II. The Organization of African Unity (OAU) was created after the end of colonialism while its successor, the AU, was established to guarantee peace and development in a traditionally troubled continent. Similarly, ASEAN was founded to oppose the advancement of communism in South East Asia and strengthen the small countries of the region vis-à-vis their strong and powerful neighbours.Supranational regionalism and crises have always been intimately connected, both empirically and theoretically. Yet, although most theoretical approaches appear to discuss crises as potential springboards for more and better regional cooperation/integration, the opposite is equally true. For instance, De Gaulle’s critical stance vis-à-vis the process of European integration (which led to a prolonged institutional crisis in the 1960s) prompted Ernst Haas, the founder of the neo-functionalist approach, to conclude that regional integration theory was ‘obsolete’. The current sovereign-debt crisis (often dubbed as the Euro-crisis) is raising a lot of doubts about the capacity of the EU to weather the storm and re-launch integration of the European continent. Public discourse not only in Europe, but also in the rest of the world, hints at the fact that regional cooperation/ integration does not deal well with ‘rainy days’, when member states tend to become more inward looking and seek refuge in short-sighted nationalism.The word ‘crisis’ derives from the ancient Greek verb krinein, which means to ‘separate, decide and judge’. As such, it therefore describes events or phenomena that produce change and lead to decisions. Looking at most current events, it is not easy to gauge the extent to which these crises may lead to more regional cooperation/integration or, conversely, to gradual/abrupt disintegration. However, there is little doubt that they present fundamental turning points in the evolution of regional cooperation/integration and pose significant challenges to all stakeholders involved. At the same time, they may very well become opportunities to reassess the usefulness of supranational regions and prospectively re-design a world of new regions.Euro-crisis and the weakening of the European modelCrises are revelatory moments. They break the repetitive continuity of ordinary processes and present us with unexpected threats and opportunities. As disruptive events, they force us to rethink conventional wisdom and become imaginative. In the evolution of political institutions, crises have been fundamental turning points opening up new space for governance innovations or, by contrast, reducing the spectrum of available options. They have ushered in phases of progress and prosperity or plummeted our societies into the darkness of parochialism and backwardness.The current Euro-crisis may have a significant long-term impact on the ‘acceptability’ of regional integration as an end-goal for regionalism not only in Europe, but also in other regions. If the European project fails to deliver the expected outcomes of stability, well-being and solidarity, then it is likely that other regions will refrain from pushing for full-blown integration, perhaps privileging less demanding forms of cooperation. It also appears as if the EU ‘model’ of integration has been severely eroded by the global financial crisis and the turmoil in the Eurozone. There is indeed growing criticism of Eurocentric approaches to regionalism, not only among scholars, but also among leading policy makers. Especially, emerging powers in Africa, Asia and South America are becoming more assertive about the need to find different ways to promote regional governance in a world in which traditional power distributions are being fundamentally called into question. Moreover, the recent popular revolutions in North Africa and the Middle East are likely to reshape geostrategic equilibria in the Mediterranean and possibly usher in a new phase of regional cooperation within the Arab world and also with Europe.  Citizens and regional governanceCitizens have been the underdogs of regionalism. From Europe, to Africa, Asia and Latin America, civil society has largely been on the receiving end of region-building processes. More often than not, civil society has been intentionally sidelined, while some sympathetic non-governmental organisations have been given the instrumental task of supporting institutions in their efforts at building a regional ‘identity’. In spite of rhetorical references to the importance of civic participation, regionalism has largely developed ‘without the citizens’.Yet contemporary crises seem to bring ‘the people’ back into the picture, at least insofar as various attempts at regional cooperation and integration stumble upon the ideas, values and expectations of the citizens. The Euro-crisis is not just a matter of scarce liquidity and overexposure of a few national governments and most private banks. It is first and foremost a legitimacy crisis, which is revealing the fundamental limitations of an elite-driven regionalism model. Not disputing the pivotal role that European political elites played in setting the integration process in motion, there is little doubt that ‘deep integration’ will only be achieved when European citizens will have a say over the type of developmental trajectory that the EU should adopt as well as its ultimate goals. Looking at the astonishing amount of public resources channelled to rescue private banks in comparison to the harsh austerity plans enforced on allegedly profligate Member States, one cannot help but ask the question: what actual interests drive regionalism in the world?Most observers have been traditionally looking at regionalization processes as politically neutral phenomena in international affairs. Research in this field has been generally restricted to the ‘quantity’ of regionalism, rather than its ‘quality’. Whether it is to explain the gradual devolution of authority from nation states to supranational institutions (as is the case with neo-functionalism) or whether it is to demonstrate the continuous bargaining process involving national governments (as is the case with intergovernmentalism), mainstream approaches to regional cooperation and integration have refrained from looking at the quality of regionalization processes. Will there be more or fewer regions in the world? Will regional institutions replace the nation state? Will regional governance become predominant in the years to come? Granted, these are very important questions and deserve to be examined in depth, especially in academic circles. Yet, the current crises force us to assess the state of regionalism in the world not only in terms of its predominance and diffusion, but also – and more importantly – in terms of how it contributes, if any, towards the well-being of our societies.  Most ‘models’ and ‘practices’ of regionalism have tended to exclude the diversity of voices and roles in society. They have often served the specific interests of ruling elites (as in Latin America and Africa), the ambitions of hegemonic actors (as in Europe and Asia) or the agendas of industrial and financial powers. Moreover, through their apparently neutral technocratic character, most attempts at regional cooperation and integration have aimed to obscure the fact that there are always winners and losers in regionalism processes. This top-down model is being increasingly challenged. Overlapping crises and the redistribution of power at the global level call into question the capacity of regions to deliver on their promises, thus unveiling the unavoidable political character of any model of regionalism. In response to the growing cost of regionalism, citizens want to have more say over future regional trajectories and exercise their democratic powers. As a consequence, regionalism is evolving from a ‘closed’ process, designed and packaged by a small circle of political and economic elites, to an ‘open’ process, in which democratic participation and accountability are playing an ever more important role. Borrowing from the jargon of Internet users, one may say that regions are transitioning from a 1.0 phase dominated by technocrats to a 2.0 stage characterised by horizontal networks, alternative models and citizens’ contestations.The EU, undoubtedly the most advanced and successful example of regionalism in the world, is now experiencing the direst consequences of such a transition. Amid rising unemployment, social malaise and growing discontent for the lack of accountability of national and regional politics, millions of citizens have been protesting against the Union and its political and economic agenda. Contrary to what eurosceptics would have us believe, these citizens do not call for less Europe: they want a different Europe. They would like regional integration to be more about connecting cultures and individuals and less about supporting capital. They would like their regional institutions to focus on helping the unemployed rather than bailing out bankrupt banks. They would like to see more solidarity across classes and generations, rather than less. They would like cooperation to be about building a different future instead of reshuffling old ideas. The future of regionalism may very well entail a growing ‘politicisation’ of regions, whereby citizens and civil society demand more voice and power in influencing not just general principles and values, but also the long-term political trajectories of their regions.Source: Open Democracy Lorenzo FioramontiCrises, like those gripping Europe, tend to expose the process and practice of regional governance as technocratic and elite-driven. But citizens and civil society may well demand more voice and power, in a politicisation of regions.In a globalizing world, where old and new evolutions challenge traditional decision making and (nation) states find it increasingly difficult to govern political processes and economic transactions that are ever more cross-boundary in nature, supranational regional governance has proven a powerful tool to address such growing complexity.As a meso-level between the state and a hypothetical global government, regional organizations have been purposefully created with a view to providing more effective management structures to deal with phenomena and processes transcending the borders of national communities. Traditionally, trans-frontier natural resources were the first common goods to be placed under the administration of regional organizations. For instance, the oldest existing regional organization in the world is the Central Commission for the Navigation of the Rhine, an authority established in Europe during the 1815 Congress of Vienna. Its purpose was to manage cross-boundary transports along the river Rhine, which cuts across France, Germany, Switzerland and the Netherlands, and – in spite of its limited political clout – it set an important precedent for the future evolutions of European integration. The forerunner of the European Economic Community, which then transformed into the European Union, was the European Coal and Steal Community, a supranational authority created to provide common jurisdiction over the most fundamental natural resources of the continent, whose direct control had historically been the main source of conflict in the region.Nowadays, there is a virtually endless list of regional organizations operating in divers sectors, entrusted with varying degrees of power and decision-making authority. Although most of them only perform specific functions (e.g. natural resources management, conflict prevention, legal advice, customs control, policing, etc.), there has been an increase in the establishment of ‘general purpose’ regional organizations, of which the EU is the most well-known and developed example. Some of them have evolved out of specific trade agreements (e.g. free trade areas), such as the Common Market of the South (Mercosur), while others have been created with a view to guaranteeing security and development, such as the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the African Union (AU). As famously remarked by P. Katzenstein, the contemporary international arena may very well develop into a ‘world of regions’, where openness and cooperation are reinforced by growth in cross-border exchanges and global transformations in interstate relations.Regions and crisesAccording to Karl Deutsch, one of the forefathers of regional studies, the most fundamental example of region-building is constituted by so-called ‘security communities’, groupings of countries that share institutional systems to avoid internal conflicts and address common external threats. In this vein, the existence of certain threats (often in the form of fully-fledged conflicts) has been instrumental to the creation of regional organizations. The European integration project emerged out of the ashes of World War II. The Organization of African Unity (OAU) was created after the end of colonialism while its successor, the AU, was established to guarantee peace and development in a traditionally troubled continent. Similarly, ASEAN was founded to oppose the advancement of communism in South East Asia and strengthen the small countries of the region vis-à-vis their strong and powerful neighbours.Supranational regionalism and crises have always been intimately connected, both empirically and theoretically. Yet, although most theoretical approaches appear to discuss crises as potential springboards for more and better regional cooperation/integration, the opposite is equally true. For instance, De Gaulle’s critical stance vis-à-vis the process of European integration (which led to a prolonged institutional crisis in the 1960s) prompted Ernst Haas, the founder of the neo-functionalist approach, to conclude that regional integration theory was ‘obsolete’. The current sovereign-debt crisis (often dubbed as the Euro-crisis) is raising a lot of doubts about the capacity of the EU to weather the storm and re-launch integration of the European continent. Public discourse not only in Europe, but also in the rest of the world, hints at the fact that regional cooperation/ integration does not deal well with ‘rainy days’, when member states tend to become more inward looking and seek refuge in short-sighted nationalism.The word ‘crisis’ derives from the ancient Greek verb krinein, which means to ‘separate, decide and judge’. As such, it therefore describes events or phenomena that produce change and lead to decisions. Looking at most current events, it is not easy to gauge the extent to which these crises may lead to more regional cooperation/integration or, conversely, to gradual/abrupt disintegration. However, there is little doubt that they present fundamental turning points in the evolution of regional cooperation/integration and pose significant challenges to all stakeholders involved. At the same time, they may very well become opportunities to reassess the usefulness of supranational regions and prospectively re-design a world of new regions.Euro-crisis and the weakening of the European modelCrises are revelatory moments. They break the repetitive continuity of ordinary processes and present us with unexpected threats and opportunities. As disruptive events, they force us to rethink conventional wisdom and become imaginative. In the evolution of political institutions, crises have been fundamental turning points opening up new space for governance innovations or, by contrast, reducing the spectrum of available options. They have ushered in phases of progress and prosperity or plummeted our societies into the darkness of parochialism and backwardness.The current Euro-crisis may have a significant long-term impact on the ‘acceptability’ of regional integration as an end-goal for regionalism not only in Europe, but also in other regions. If the European project fails to deliver the expected outcomes of stability, well-being and solidarity, then it is likely that other regions will refrain from pushing for full-blown integration, perhaps privileging less demanding forms of cooperation. It also appears as if the EU ‘model’ of integration has been severely eroded by the global financial crisis and the turmoil in the Eurozone. There is indeed growing criticism of Eurocentric approaches to regionalism, not only among scholars, but also among leading policy makers. Especially, emerging powers in Africa, Asia and South America are becoming more assertive about the need to find different ways to promote regional governance in a world in which traditional power distributions are being fundamentally called into question. Moreover, the recent popular revolutions in North Africa and the Middle East are likely to reshape geostrategic equilibria in the Mediterranean and possibly usher in a new phase of regional cooperation within the Arab world and also with Europe.  Citizens and regional governanceCitizens have been the underdogs of regionalism. From Europe, to Africa, Asia and Latin America, civil society has largely been on the receiving end of region-building processes. More often than not, civil society has been intentionally sidelined, while some sympathetic non-governmental organisations have been given the instrumental task of supporting institutions in their efforts at building a regional ‘identity’. In spite of rhetorical references to the importance of civic participation, regionalism has largely developed ‘without the citizens’.Yet contemporary crises seem to bring ‘the people’ back into the picture, at least insofar as various attempts at regional cooperation and integration stumble upon the ideas, values and expectations of the citizens. The Euro-crisis is not just a matter of scarce liquidity and overexposure of a few national governments and most private banks. It is first and foremost a legitimacy crisis, which is revealing the fundamental limitations of an elite-driven regionalism model. Not disputing the pivotal role that European political elites played in setting the integration process in motion, there is little doubt that ‘deep integration’ will only be achieved when European citizens will have a say over the type of developmental trajectory that the EU should adopt as well as its ultimate goals. Looking at the astonishing amount of public resources channelled to rescue private banks in comparison to the harsh austerity plans enforced on allegedly profligate Member States, one cannot help but ask the question: what actual interests drive regionalism in the world?Most observers have been traditionally looking at regionalization processes as politically neutral phenomena in international affairs. Research in this field has been generally restricted to the ‘quantity’ of regionalism, rather than its ‘quality’. Whether it is to explain the gradual devolution of authority from nation states to supranational institutions (as is the case with neo-functionalism) or whether it is to demonstrate the continuous bargaining process involving national governments (as is the case with intergovernmentalism), mainstream approaches to regional cooperation and integration have refrained from looking at the quality of regionalization processes. Will there be more or fewer regions in the world? Will regional institutions replace the nation state? Will regional governance become predominant in the years to come? Granted, these are very important questions and deserve to be examined in depth, especially in academic circles. Yet, the current crises force us to assess the state of regionalism in the world not only in terms of its predominance and diffusion, but also – and more importantly – in terms of how it contributes, if any, towards the well-being of our societies.  Most ‘models’ and ‘practices’ of regionalism have tended to exclude the diversity of voices and roles in society. They have often served the specific interests of ruling elites (as in Latin America and Africa), the ambitions of hegemonic actors (as in Europe and Asia) or the agendas of industrial and financial powers. Moreover, through their apparently neutral technocratic character, most attempts at regional cooperation and integration have aimed to obscure the fact that there are always winners and losers in regionalism processes. This top-down model is being increasingly challenged. Overlapping crises and the redistribution of power at the global level call into question the capacity of regions to deliver on their promises, thus unveiling the unavoidable political character of any model of regionalism. In response to the growing cost of regionalism, citizens want to have more say over future regional trajectories and exercise their democratic powers. As a consequence, regionalism is evolving from a ‘closed’ process, designed and packaged by a small circle of political and economic elites, to an ‘open’ process, in which democratic participation and accountability are playing an ever more important role. Borrowing from the jargon of Internet users, one may say that regions are transitioning from a 1.0 phase dominated by technocrats to a 2.0 stage characterised by horizontal networks, alternative models and citizens’ contestations.The EU, undoubtedly the most advanced and successful example of regionalism in the world, is now experiencing the direst consequences of such a transition. Amid rising unemployment, social malaise and growing discontent for the lack of accountability of national and regional politics, millions of citizens have been protesting against the Union and its political and economic agenda. Contrary to what eurosceptics would have us believe, these citizens do not call for less Europe: they want a different Europe. They would like regional integration to be more about connecting cultures and individuals and less about supporting capital. They would like their regional institutions to focus on helping the unemployed rather than bailing out bankrupt banks. They would like to see more solidarity across classes and generations, rather than less. They would like cooperation to be about building a different future instead of reshuffling old ideas. The future of regionalism may very well entail a growing ‘politicisation’ of regions, whereby citizens and civil society demand more voice and power in influencing not just general principles and values, but also the long-term political trajectories of their regions.Source: Open Democracypor Kintto Lucas ALAI AMLATINA, 16/07/2013.- En los últimos años, pharm América del Sur ha dado pasos decisivos en su camino hacia la integración regional. Conscientes de los desafíos que ha generado la globalización y que se han evidenciado en las crisis económicas y políticas internacionales, buy así como en la proliferación de actividades ilícitas transnacionales que traspasan las capacidades individuales de los Estados, algunos países han comenzado a entender que las ventajas de una mayor cooperación e intercambio comercial no son el objetivo final, sino que es necesario coordinar respuestas en políticas económicas y fiscales, pero también sociales, en manejo de recursos naturales, temas ambientales, de defensa y en otros ámbitos, para enfrentar las amenazas. Pero sobre todo, que en el mundo que se va configurando es imposible caminar solos, y es fundamental caminar en colectivo Para reforzar la integración es necesario incrementar los niveles de interdependencia económica y comercial en la región. Es un camino complejo pero no imposible. Falta todavía profundizar en una mirada colectiva y dejar de mirarse cada uno al ombligo. Es necesario que las economías más grandes sean más solidarias con las economías pequeñas, pero también es fundamental que éstas busquen un desarrollo propio, dejen de ser parasitarias y no se escondan detrás la farsa de revender productos traídos de otros países sin incorporar agregado nacional o solo colocando una etiqueta de industria nacional. De a poco América del Sur se va alejando de la teoría de integración regional que promueve el divorcio entre Economía y Política, y que terminó por arrastrar a muchos países a la falacia del “mercado auto regulador” como promotor del desarrollo. Sin embargo, es preocupante observar que después de las nefastas experiencias con la aplicación de la terapias de shock de mercado –en palabras de Naomi Klein-, este tipo de medidas políticas se siguen vendiendo desde algunos países de la OCDE, organizaciones financieras multilaterales, sectores políticos de derecha y ciertos empresarios, como la panacea para la proyección económica de nuestros países. Desde el Norte se promueven los tratados de libre comercio y la liberalización y desregulación financiera, así como la privatización y la flexibilización del mercado de trabajo como los mecanismos fundamentales para la integración a la economía internacional. En América del Sur hay quienes escuchan esos cantos de sirena y defienden la necesidad urgente de crear un área de libre comercio estilo ALCA. Pretenden así reponer los fracasos del modelo neoliberal. La integración regional de Suramérica debe recuperar el rol del Estado sobre el mercado, y de la sociedad sobre el Estado y el mercado. Los Estados Suramericanos integrados deben controlar el mercado suramericano integrado. Y la sociedad suramericana debe jugar un papel fundamental con su participación para controlar los Estados y los mercados integrados. Esa integración debe generar vías para un modelo de desarrollo que permita la proyección de cada país y la proyección conjunta. La eficacia y el aprovechamiento de las sinergias regionales dependen de la capacidad de entender que es un proyecto colectivo, no individual, y del tejido institucional que se consolide en el proceso de integración. Fortalecer y profundizar la integración en América del Sur, pasa por fortalecer y profundizar Unasur, y en ese camino es fundamental fortalecer y profundizar el Mercosur caminando hacia un Mercosur Suramericano. Pero eso depende de la capacidad que muestren nuestros Estados para reconfigurar sus estructuras productivas. Esto será posible si los gobiernos van de a poco trascendiendo el ámbito de la mera racionalidad económica y se comprometen en la construcción de una Política Económica Común e Inclusiva, que aproveche las ventajas de la región en recursos alimenticios, hídricos, materias primas industriales y energéticas, generando una integración productiva y la complementariedad entre los países. En el nuevo orden mundial, la importancia de América del Sur en la economía internacional es innegable. Es uno de los polos económicos más dinámicos. Actualmente, el PIB de los países de la Suramérica representa el 73 por ciento del de América Latina y el Caribe, que a su vez representa el 8 por ciento del comercio mundial. A pesar del peso económico, la matriz productiva y exportadora de nuestros países continúa centrada en el sector primario y en las manufacturas intensivas en materias primas y recursos naturales. Este fenómeno responde a los altos precios de los commodities en el mercado internacional, pero también a la concentración de la inversión, tanto nacional como extranjera, en la explotación de materias primas. Como consecuencia, los países suramericanos enfrentan la amenaza de la desindustrialización y reprimariziación de sus economías. Estos procesos conllevan el aparecimiento de enclaves productivos cuya generación de riqueza no se transmite al total de la economía, dadas las escasas concatenaciones productivas que generan y la fuga de capitales en forma de repatriación de ganancias y beneficios y de incremento desmedido de las importaciones. Esos enclaves, muchas veces son parte de la parasitaria inversión extranjera que no paga impuestos y aporta muy poco a nuestros países. La forma independiente que los países suramericanos han concebido su desarrollo económico, ha dado origen al establecimiento de estructuras productivas orientadas a satisfacer solamente necesidades extra regionales, llevando a que la dinámica económica de los países de la región contribuya en poco o nada a la dinámica económica colectiva de la región. Debido a este modo individualista de concebir el crecimiento económico y de aplicar políticas comerciales fundamentadas en aperturismos indiscriminados, la mayor parte de las economías suramericanas han experimentado procesos de desmantelamiento productivo o pérdida de dinamismo económico en los sectores industriales. Paralelamente grandes segmentos de nuestras poblaciones ven disminuir el desempleo pero crecer el empleo precario. Y observan que, si bien se nota una clara disminución de la pobreza, la desigualdad se mantiene y a veces es más evidente. Es necesario que la integración económica suramericana gire en torno a la articulación de las economías nacionales, que las estructuras productivas busquen satisfacer las necesidades de los habitantes de la región, de modo que podamos desarrollar nuestros sectores manufactureros y de servicios. En ese sentido se debe asegurar las condiciones jurídicas y técnicas para promover inversiones productivas regionales. Y finalmente hay que configurar ordenamientos productivos que contribuyan a que todas y cada una de las economías de la región alcancen niveles altos de competitividad para poder, en otra fase, competir en los mercados de servicios y manufacturas de mediano y alto valor agregado internacionales. En el difícil camino hacia un Mercosur Suramericano, Mercosur debe transformarse en la cabeza de puente para formar un bloque comercial suramericano, que se rija por los principios de solidaridad, complementariedad y consideración de las asimetrías en los niveles de desarrollo económico y social de los diferentes miembros, que priorice el papel del Estado, que tenga como finalidad el bienestar de la población en lugar de las ganancias del gran capital, y que sirva como ejemplo de un modelo de regionalismo diferente, frente a los esquemas tradicionales que se basan en el fundamentalismo de mercado. Kintto Lucas es Embajador Itinerante de Uruguay para Unasur, Celac y Alba. Ex Vicecanciller de Ecuador. Fuente: http://alainet.org/active/65704 lang=es

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