Regionalism and Finance: A Conceptual Approach

Abstract

There is a widespread debate within the field of international political economy (IPE) regarding the causes and consequences of regionalism in world politics. Rarely, however, has this debate considered the effects of regionalism on finance. This article contributes to this debate by reaching beyond conventional categories of political economy to explore the way in which the organization of finance is being shaped by regionalism in Europe. By employing a theoretical framework adapted from the work of Fernand Braudel, it locales the effects of regionalism within the context of the market economy, or what Braudel identifies as the domain of transparent commercial exchange. It explores the changing nature of identity among selected financial institutions in order to ask how far a regional dimension is emerging within the organization of finance, and concludes that what may be called regional finance is in fact emerging in Europe. Such an approach contributes to existing debates on regionalism in world politics by drawing our attention to the changing motivations, practices and dynamics of finance in Europe, and the way in which this may be seen as part of the overarching structure of the contemporary world-economy.