BANGLADESH INSTITUTE OF INTERNATIONAL AND STRATEGIC STUDIES

BEYOND STATE CENTRISM: REGIONAL COOPERATION APPROACHES AND NON-STATE ACTORS

Author: Abu Salah Md. Yousuf

DOI Link: https://www.doi.org/10.56888/BIISSj2020v41n1a1

ABSTRACT

Why do the states participate in regional cooperation? To answer the question, a number of approaches have been evolved in the literature of regionalism studies: state centric, market driven, functionalist, institutionalist, constructivist and governance approach. At first, it was argued that the states participate in the regional cooperation for their political and security gains. But later a market driven approach identified that security is not the only factor, rather the “comparative advantage” in the international market motivates the states to participate in the regional arrangements. On the other hand, the functionalist approach argues that when the states find cooperation in some areas helpful for them to perform better, they develop regional mechanisms. The institutionalists focus on the institutional autonomy which facilitates the states to be engaged in the regional frameworks without compromising their sovereignty. In addition to these rationalist approaches, the constructivists highlight social interactions, which promote regional cooperation. A latest development in the regional cooperation study is the governance approach, where in addition to the states, non-state actors (NSAs) are also considered as an important factor to motivate and pressure the states for developing common policies in the regional level. In this backdrop, this paper reviews the evolution and core features of the existing regional cooperation approaches in the regionalism studies literature. Moreover, the paper explains why and how the NSAs are emerging as an important factor in the processes of political mobilization, policy making and policy structuring of the regional arrangements.