CDC PROJECT
2004
REGIONAL STUDIES
SYLLABUS
The
course is focusing on setting up of
unitary criteria and conceptual framework for the understanding, interpretation
and teaching of regionalism and regional policies both in the EU Member and
The
themes of the lectures (and of the
corresponding seminars) cover the
following topics:
1.Regions and regionalism in the new
2. Nation-states, globalization, regional
development. – Dr. Gavril Flora
3. Regionalism and economic development – Dr. Csaba Béres
4. Analyzing regional economies and social
processes –Dr. Csaba Béres
5.Human resource development and regional
policies –Dr. Georgina Szilagyi
6. Cross-border regions in Central-East and South- East Europe –Dr. Georgina Szilagyi
7. The Carpathian
Euroregion as a geographical, economical, social and political entity –Dr. Gavril
Flora
8. The
potential of cross border cooperation in the Hungarian-Romanian border area.
The Bihor-Bihar Euroregion. : Dr. Georgina Szilagyi
9. Local identity and regionalism Dr. Georgina
Szilagyi
10 The ethnic dimension of regionalism in
12. Regionalism, competition and geopolitics: European integration in
The lectures review some of
the main definitions of what constitutes a region, and attempt to identify the
basic concepts and approaches to integration. Both the diversity and the
hierarchical nature of regionalism are emphasised and attention is called to
the motivations that lead groups of states and regions to elect for one
particular form of regional co-operation over another.
The course guides the audience through a description of integration across the political, economic and social arenas, and highlights the existence of both micro-regions (sub-national) and macro-regions (supranational).
A micro-region is defined as a territorial area that is smaller than a state to which it belongs, but larger than a municipality. Typical examples of such micro-regions are provinces, districts, departments or even mega-cities. A special case of a micro-region is one that spreads across different states (cross-border region).
Macro-regions, sometimes
called international regions or world-regions, are defined in
terms of large territorial units comprising different states. A former
definition of macro-region is: 'A limited number of states linked together by a
geographical relationship and by a degree of mutual interdependence' (Joseph
Nye). This is a valuable definition, but in the increasingly interdependent
world, a more accurate definition is the one provided by Barry Buzan: "A
spatially coherent territory composed of two or more states".
Micro-regionalism is related to macro-regionalism in the way that the larger regionalisation (and globalisation) processes create possibilities for smaller economically dynamic sub-national or trans-national regions to get a direct access to the larger regional economic system, often bypassing the nation-state and the national capital, sometimes even as an alternative or in opposition to the challenged state and formal state-led regionalisms.
During the lectures attention is given to both long-established and more recent systems of regional integration, and to the particular forms that regionalism has taken in various parts of the world, with a special emphasis on Western and Eastern European models of integration. The overall aim is to equip participants with the basic tools necessary to understand the variety and scope of co-operation across countries and within countries, while appreciating the dynamic and complex nature of such arrangements. Participants are invited to consult the bibliography of selected reading before each lecture.
Regional development is discussed
linked to globalisation and localisation, two major forces that will shape the
21st century. Globalisation refers to both the emergence of a global
economy, the effects of which reach out to the whole planet, and to a series of
non-economic developments with worldwide implications. In this respect the
mutual inter-conditioning between regionalism and economic development is to be
analysed. Factors such as improved communications and transportation and
falling trade barriers are not only making the world smaller. These
developments are also fuelling the desire and providing the means for
decentralisation, or localisation, that
is for local communities to shape their own future.
Regional integration refers to a process
of complex social transformation characterised by the intensification of
relations between independent sovereign states. It gives rise to various forms
of regional co-operation whose purpose is the better management of today’s
complex processes of economic, political and social change. This changing
landscape is characterised in the first place by the
globalisation/regionalisation dichotomy. Pressures for both local and global
action are calling for new forms of governance that better reflect the needs
and demands of the emerging global society. This calls upon comparative
regional integration studies as a means to manage and shape these global/local
pressures in such a way that they are not paradoxical but complementary. Hence,
the need to focus on the multi-directional and hybrid nature of the processes
of integration (building-up, down, across and beyond) as best reflected in the
case of European integration. In this sense,
The global/local dynamics is
particularly demanding in case of East European countries, currently facing the
process of integration into the European Union. In fact, their difficult task
is exacerbated by the global pressures for intra-regional integration and for
the devolution of power to sub-regional and local authorities. The development
of a sustainable environment both within and between these countries is
dependent upon the successful balancing of global and local pressures. In
particular, institutional and political frameworks are needed in which the
respect of (ethnic, national, religious, local, regional) identities represents
the source of integration and co-operation rather than the ideological motive
for divisions. The issues concerning regional development and regionalism in
the post communist countries of