Sociogeographic regionalisation of Czechia 2021: Changes in regional development or temporary stabilisation?

This article examines the impact of globalization on the development and functioning of regional political organizations in international relations. It analyses the effectiveness of regional political systems amidst globalized processes, focusing on mechanisms of interaction and coordination that contribute to regional stability and development. The study also identifies key challenges and threats these organizations face in the context of globalization. Additionally, the research aims to develop recommendations for enhancing the efficiency of regional political systems through optimizing existing cooperation and integration strategies.The study adopts an interdisciplinary approach, incorporating analysis of historical development of regional political systems, examination of contemporary political and economic processes, and analysis of specific activities of key regional organizations. The relevance of the study is underscored by the necessity to understand the effectiveness of regional political organizations in addressing global challenges. The scientific novelty lies in the comprehensive analysis of the interaction between regional organizations and global structures, emphasizing their role in contemporary international relations. The research highlights the role of regional political organizations as intermediaries between national states and global structures. It identifies these organizations as facilitators in conflict resolution, economic integration, and stability. The study assesses both positive and negative aspects of globalization for regional political organizations, along with the challenges they encounter.Practical implications of this work include providing recommendations to enhance the effectiveness of regional political organizations in a globalized world. These recommendations are valuable for policymakers, analysts, and international organizations engaged in regional cooperation and global governance. The article significantly contributes to understanding the role of regional political organizations in the contemporary international landscape, emphasizing their importance in addressing global issues and ensuring international stability. The findings of the study open new perspectives for further research and development of management strategies in these contexts.

Regional forest organizations and their innovation impact on forestry and regional development in central Switzerland

At present, regional development is facing far more difficult, complicated and urgent problems than any time before during the lant 50 years. In the first place, it is the consequence of new, objective economic conditions: Overall and extensive economic recession exerts its influence in a regionally differentiated way. It is unavoidable, that new economic units, which have no solid foundations, and are integrated into the local economy, are the first victims of economic crisis, especially when their future is decided at far-away headquarters; Re-orientation of foreign trade and the collapse of Eastern markets primarily jeopardize the Eastern parts of the country which had been oriented to these regions. At the same time, Western operating capital, commission work and cooperation understandably favour and promote the development of the Western parts of the country. The separation of the country on the basis of economic development is clearly and excessively becoming a characteristic feature; With the market economy gaining ground the market factors, are gaining importance, and with the increasing differentiation of the economic factors the differences in allowances and taxes are becoming increasingly characteristic, and they all add to the increase of differences. In effect, the differentiating factors of the market only start to exert their influence in regional sense and terms. but their final influence and consequences are unknown as yet; Finally, new and yet incomprehensible systems of dependencies begin to develop. Hungarian and foreign companies buy up other companies or get a majority share in them, sometimes for the purpose of development, and sometimes for other reasons. Parallel with it, all those systems and structures that were created for safeguarding the interests at certain regional levels have disappeared (the state party with its regional organization, the county councils, etc. have all ceased to exist). The logical consequence stemming from this is that in the transitional period, a strong function and management for regional development has to be created within the government. At present in Hungary the prevailance of a well-determined governmental regional development policy containing the elements of redistribution, but not being limited to the fundamental system of the infrastructure, is absolutely necessary. Consequently, the government has to be given a special role. As opposed to this, the actual practise of government regional development policy is inconsistent, slow and unplanned. The basic directions, fundamental principles and the concept of government regional development policy have not been elaborated as yet. Measures on regional development are ad hoc, and of fire-fighting character. The functions of regional and settlement development are still fulfilled by different portfolios and have no clear distribution of tasks. As a consequence, the most urgent thing to do is to determine the obligations, duties, tasks and spheres of influence of the government in regional development. As a first step, a clear and well-defined regional development programme — with or without legislation — has to be elaborated. Regional development requires strong and uniform representation by the government. And last, but not least, the political, economic and social problems of the representation of interests at regional level should be solved. One of the solutions could be a parliament with two houses, where the representatives of one of the houses would represent regions, counties, etc. The other solution could be the system of strong and representative regional local governments.

Regional integration theory seeks to explain the establishment and development of regional international organizations. Key questions are why and under which conditions states decide to transfer political authority to regional organizations; how regional organizations expand their tasks, competencies, and members; and what impact they have on states and societies in their regions. Whereas regional integration theory started with a broad comparative regional and organizational scope in the 1950s and 1960s, it has since focused on European integration and the European Union. The main (families of) theories explaining the development of European integration—rather than decision making and policy making in the EU—are intergovernmentalism, neofunctionalism, and postfunctionalism. The key debates in regional integration theory have taken place between variants of intergovernmentalist and neofunctionalist integration theory. Intergovernmentalism assumes national governments to be the key actors in regional integration. Governments use regional integration to maximize their national security and economic interests in the context of regional interdependence. Integration outcomes result from intergovernmental bargaining and reflect the regional preference and power constellations. Governments delegate authority to regional organizations to secure their bargaining outcomes but remain in control of regional organizations and the integration process. By contrast, neofunctionalism disputes that governments are able to control the integration process. Transnational corporations and interest groups as well as supranational actors are empowered by the integration process and shape it in their own interest. In addition, integration creates a variety of “spillovers” and path-dependencies that push integration beyond the intergovernmental bargain. More recently, postfunctionalism has enriched and challenged the theoretical debate on regional integration. In contrast to neofunctionalism, postfunctionalism assumes a backlash mechanism of integration. As regional integration progresses and undermines national sovereignty and community, it creates economic and cultural losers who are mobilized by integration-skeptic parties. Identity-based and populist mass politicization constrains regional integration and may even cause disintegration. Regional integration theories have closely followed and adapted themselves to the development of European integration. They cover the establishment and progress of supranational policies and institutions but also the recent crisis of the EU. An exemplary review of their explanations of major development in European integration shows that they are more complementary than competing.

In nearly all regions, politico-legal projects for regional organization and integration often prioritize infrastructure construction and maintenance. In West Africa, the development of a regional organization by the post-colonial independent states, in particular the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) formed in 1975, has enabled states to allocate certain powers to formal and informal regional political institutions with the aim of building state effectiveness and capacity and hence increasing public support and popular legitimacy. In this Essay, I argue that regional organizations serve as governance structures whose infrastructural and institutional mechanisms contextually address the needs of states and their citizens. This account particularly applies to West African electricity arrangements overseen through an unusual ECOWAS-linked regional infrastructural organization, the West African Power Pool (WAPP). The case of WAPP demonstrates how the energy infrastructure shapes and modifies regional institutional rules and practices.

During the past few decades, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of regional partnerships in the United States to enhance economic development across local government jurisdictions. This trend has been mirrored by an increase in regional organizations in Europe, Asia and South America to enhance economic development, usually across national boundaries. While the literature has examined the formation, structure and activities of regional partnerships for economic development in the United States, this is the first study that attempts to measure their effectiveness across a large number of geographical areas using quantitative methods. The findings provide some evidence of their effectiveness in that there is a positive and significant relationship between regional partnerships and employment; the relationship between regional partnerships and income is positive but insignificant. This study may be informative in the further study of regional economic development organizations in other countries as well as regional partnerships and organizations in other policy arenas.

This paper examines some effects of the pursuit of neoliberalism on regional development policy and practice in Australia, and in particular on the activities and effectiveness of regional development organisations. The paper interprets data from a survey of 505 regional development organisations across Australia through the framework of Jessop's contribution to state theory and his identification of four key trends in economic management under neoliberalism. Regional development policies are seen as a response of governments to electoral pressure from regions, but a response that is constrained by the dominance of neoliberal ideology. The objectives of regional development are predominantly economic, but are often limited to the role of facilitation and the provision of information. Some responsibility for regional development has been shifted downwards to regions, but the effectiveness of the organisations given this responsibility is reduced by the short-term and competitive nature of much of their funding, the lack of coordination between regional development actors at the local level, the proliferation of agencies and the competition between them. The paper concludes that regional development agencies in Australia are in many ways a product of neoliberalism, since they represent one way in which governments can be seen to be responding to regional pressure for assistance but they can do so without incurring significant costs. Yet regional development bodies are also a victim of neoliberalist thinking, since it denies them the resources and the powers they need to be more successful in their work.

This chapter considers the development of security regionalism and regionalization in the Middle East against the backdrop of global influences and trends. It demonstrates how regional security has, on the one hand, mapped onto global patterns and practices in respect of security governance: the influence of the League of Nations was visible in the charter of the League of Arab States (LAS), which in turn served to inform debates about the relationship between regional organizations and the United Nations (UN). The LAS represents a “historical twin” to the UN as a former secretary general recently stated (Moussa, 2012, p. 107). Moreover, current debates about regional security are closely informed by the wider multilateral framework as the question of (non)intervention around the Arab Spring uprisings showed. On the other hand, regionalism in the Middle East has also progressed along broadly similar lines to other regionalisms around the world, conforming in general terms to the pattern of two main “waves” of regional development, the first after World War II and the second after the Cold War (Mansfield and Milner, 1999). Yet, beyond this apparently conformist and positive view of the development of regional organization and its relationship with global security, there is an evident disjuncture between expectation and performance.

This paper describes the restructuring of power industry in the US. Costs, benefits and major problems associated with the development of regional transmission organizations (RTOs) are presented. Different models of RTOs are presented and discussed. The similarities and differences between independent system operators (ISOs) and RTOs are analyzed. Finally, the US regional developments are analyzed.

This study discusses the results of using multidimensional statistical procedures in the analysis of development prospects and the state of regional integration of the countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the countries of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) in the horizon of 2030.Aim. Determine the development prospects and effectiveness of regional organizations, ASEAN and EAEU, as of 2030.Tasks. To identify the current trend in the development of the processes of regional cooperation and integration of the ASEAN countries and the EAEU countries, to determine and predict the state of the processes of regional cooperation and integration of the discussed regional associations in the context of the types and scenarios for the development of regional organizations proposed by the Eurasian Development Bank.Methods. The study used the work of the Eurasian Development Bank, the Regional Integration Database (RIDB), the open data of the World Bank, and the data of the ASEAN statistical portal. The research methodology was based on the assumption that, based on multivariate statistical procedures, it is possible to establish a different in time, the position of a regional organization in its relatively homogeneous group. The group (cluster) was taken (taken) in accordance with a typology provided by the Center for Integration Studies of the Eurasian Development Bank. The construction of time series models was carried out in accordance with the ARIMA methodology.Results. With the help of cluster analysis, similarities and differences were determined in relation to the distance of the object under study to the center of a homogeneous reference group. Thus, it was possible to establish the position of regional international organizations, ASEAN and EAEU, differing in time in their relatively homogeneous group. In addition, the processes of regional cooperation and integration are non-linear and non-unidirectional, accompanied byboth convergence and divergence.Conclusion. With regard to ASEAN, the possibility of reducing its effectiveness as a regional organization in the perspective of 2030 has been established, this situation is explained by the implementation of the hedging policy by the key actors in the region in the context of the growing competition between the United States and China.With regard to the EAEU, it has been established that the organization in the horizon of 2030 has significant opportunities for its development as an active organization in the post-Soviet space. However, such a prospect will depend on timely actions of the Russian Federation that meet the challenges and threats of sanctions pressure.

Introduction

Rudiger Wolfrum has been involved with the Sudan peace process for almost a decade in both its national and international dimensions. The relationship between the UN and regional organizations has been evolving in recent years. This Chapter outlines the general concept of the United Nations (UN) Charter concerning the contribution of regional organizations to the maintenance of international peace and security. It then sheds light on the regional developments in Africa in the context of the African Union (AU) in order to analyse the establishment of UNAMID in this context. The chapter assess the advantages and disadvantages of hybrid missions in order to answer the question whether or not they may be seen as a future model in the cooperation between the United Nations and regional organizations. Keywords:African Union (AU); regional organizations; Rudiger Wolfrum ; Sudan peace process; UNAMID; United Nations (UN)

ABSTRACTRegional ports, as infrastructure in regions, influence transport and regional development policies and planning. The interaction and involvement of regional ports with their stakeholders in the region are pivotal. The conundrum on what constitutes a regional port and thus its region has further complicated this limited researched area. In the extant literature, port and region relationship mainly centres on major metropolitan ports, and pays little heed to regional ports. In this context, this study investigates on how the Australian regional ports can be better involved in regional development. The study adopts a qualitative methodology to explore the Australian regional port stakeholders’ perceptions on port’s role in regional development through 38 semi-structured telephone interviews. Thematic analysis of data assisted by a mixture of NVivo software and manual techniques proposes a conceptual model that may assist policy-making. The key findings suggest that symbiotic growths of ports and concerned regions accelerate regional development. To contribute to regional development, the Australian regional ports can be proactive in building collaboration with regional organisations. The findings have major implications for port managers and port policy-makers for developing a region-oriented long-term port planning and for creating environment for Australian regional ports for regional resource configuration.

In this chapter, students will learn about the role of regional organizations in the provision of international security; the history and development of regionalism in the security sphere; and the evolving relationship between the United Nations (UN) and regional organizations. This chapter considers the conditions behind the growth and expanding remit of regional security projects, and explanations for their success and failure. As the world has become increasingly multipolar and more states seek an active stake in the multilateral system, regional organizations play important though uneven roles in a complex multilateral security architecture.

Collective security by regional organisations continues to be impacted by evolving global security threats. Previously focused at the global level, the shift from interstate conflicts to intra-state conflicts resulted in the acknowledgement of regionalism and the functions of collective security being implemented at the regional level. This paper examines the development of regionalism in the security sphere and the evolving relationship between the United Nations (UN) and regional organisations. Employing historical and comparative perspectives, it considers both the development of regional security projects and the reasons for their successes and failures. It also critically analyses the various constitutional developments that have occurred within regional arrangements looking particularly at the African Union (AU) and what accounts for such regional organisations to depart from the normative framework of regional arrangements contained in Chapter VIII of the UN Charter. The paper uses primary and secondary material to understand the compatibility of Chapter VIII of the UN Charter and the Constitutive Act of the AU as mechanisms used to respond to peace and security challenges on the African continent. The design of the study is qualitative research and the AU is used as a case study from other regional organisations. The theoretical framework adopted, based on its explanatory power, is collective security.