Regionalism on the Run: ASEAN, EU, AU and MERCOSUR Responses Amid the COVID-19 Crisis


Abstract


The transnational nature of COVID-19 created expectations of regionally-led initiatives to address this global challenge. The pandemic has transcended health issues accounting for several political and socioeconomic implications. This study seeks to investigate four regional organisations' responses during the 'first wave' to unravel regionalism's role in a time of crisis. To do so, the method of comparative analysis has been employed. ASEAN, EU, AU and MERCOSUR, four distinct organisations were selected to evaluate their responses in terms of crisis management efficacy, level of solidarity, promotion of multilateralism and international actorness. The findings highlight each organisation's successes and shortcomings while indicating the limits of regional cooperation in effectively responding to outbreaks of infectious diseases. This empirical analysis shows that regional responses were limited and mainly facilitated national policies. This further indicates regional organisations' inability to have a more proactive role in crisis management, boost their actorness and advance more inclusive and responsive global governance.

DOI Code: 10.1285/i20356609v14i1p57

Keywords: regionalism; COVID-19; EU; MERCOSUR; ASEAN; AU

References


Acharya, A., & Johnston, A. I. (2007), “Comparing regional institutions: an introduction”, Crafting cooperation: Regional international institutions in comparative perspective, 1-31.

Africa CDC (2020a), About us, Retrieved (https://africacdc.org/about-us/)

Africa CDC (2020b), Africa Joint Continental Strategy for COVID-19 Outbreak, Retrieved (https://africacdc.org/download/africa-joint-continental-strategy-for-covid-19-outbreak/)

Africa CDC (2020c), COVID-19 Resources, Documents and publications on COVID-19, Retrieved (https://africacdc.org/covid-19/covid-19-resources/?wpv_aux_current_post_id=3648&wpv_view_count=3646&wpv_paged=2)

Africa CDC (2020d), COVID-19 Vaccine Development and Access virtual conference, Retrieved (https://africacdc.org/news-item/covid-19-vaccine-development-and-access-virtual-conference/)

Africa CDC (2020e), Partnership to Accelerate COVID-19 Testing (PACT) in Africa Resources, Retrieved October 01, 2020 (https://africacdc.org/download/partnership-to-accelerate-covid-19-testing-pact-in-africa/)

African Union (2000), Constitutive Act of African Union, Retrieved (https://au.int/sites/default/files/pages/34873-file-constitutiveact_en.pdf)

Agartan T. I., S. Cook,V. Lin (2020), “COVID-19 and WHO: Global institutions in the context of shifting multilateral and regional dynamics”, Global Social Policy.

Amaya A. B., Rollet, V. and Kingah, S. (2015), “What’s in a word? The framing of health at the regional level: ASEAN, EU, SADC and UNASUR”, Global social policy, 15(3): 229-260.

ASEAN (2020a), ASEAN Plus Three Economic Ministers' Joint Statement on Mitigating the Economic Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic, Retrieved (https://asean.org/asean-plus-three-economic-ministers-joint-statement-mitigating-economic-impact-covid-19-pandemic/)

ASEAN (2018), ASEAN Post-2015 Health Development Agenda (2016-2020), Retrieved (https://asean.org/?static_post=asean-post-2015-health-development-agenda-2016-2020)

ASEAN (2016), ASEAN The Asean Declaration (Bangkok Declaration) Bangkok, 8 August 1967, Retrieved (https://asean.org/the-asean-declaration-bangkok-declaration-bangkok-8-august-1967/)

ASEAN (2020b), Declaration of the Special ASEAN Summit on Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), Retrieved (https://asean.org/declaration-special-asean-summit-coronavirus-disease-2019-covid-19/)

ASEAN (2020c), ASEAN Secretariat News, 2020, Retrieved (https://asean.org/category/asean-secretariat-news/)

ASEAN (2000), Declaration of the 5th ASEAN Health Ministers Meeting on Healthy ASEAN 2020 28-29 April 2000 Yogyakarta, Indonesia, Retrieved (https://asean.org/?static_post=declaration-of-the-5th-asean-health-ministers-meeting-on-healthy-asean-2020-28-29-april-2000-yogyakarta-indonesia)

ASEAN (2020d), Statement of the Special ASEAN-China Foreign Ministers’ Meeting on the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), Retrieved (https://asean.org/statement-special-asean-china-foreign-ministers-meeting-coronavirus-disease-2019-covid-19/)

Baviera A. (2017), “Preventing War, Building a Rules-based Order: Challenges Facing the ASEAN Political–Security Community”, ASEAN 50, 4: 1-18

Beeson M., P. Murray (2020), “Testing Times for Regionalism: Coping with Great Power Rivalry in the Asia–Pacific”, Asian Studies Review, 44(1): 1-9.

Bianculli A. C., and Hoffmann A. R. (2016), “Regional Integration and Health Policies: Regulatory Governance Challenges in Mercosur”, in A. C. Bianculli, A. R. Hoffmann (eds.), Regional Organisations and Social Policy in Europe and Latin America, London: Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 251-270.

Bianculli A. C.(2018), “From free market to social policies? Mapping regulatory cooperation in education and health in MERCOSUR”, Global Social Policy, 18(3):249-266.

Boin, A., Ekengren, M., & Rhinard, M. (2013). The European Union as crisis manager: Problems and prospects. Cambridge University Press.

Boin A., Hart P.., Kuipers S. (2018), “The Crisis Approach”, in: Rodríguez H., Donner W., Trainor J. (eds) Handbook of Disaster Research. Handbooks of Sociology and Social Research. Springer.

Borelli S., M. Karnitschnig (2020), Italy’s future is in German hands, Retrieved August 20, 2020 (https://www.politico.eu/article/coronavirus-italy-future-germany/)

Börzel . A. (2016), “Theorizing regionalism”, in M. Beeson and R. Stubbs, (eds.), The Routledge Handbook of Asian Regionalism, London: Routledge, 41-63.

Börzel, T. A. and Risse, T (2016), “Introduction”, in T. A. Börzel, and T. Risse (eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Comparative Regionalism, Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Braw E. (2020), Europe’S Coronavirus Response: Selfish Member States And Active Institutions, Retrieved (https://www.rusi.org/commentary/europe-coronavirus-response-selfish-member-states-and-active-institution)

Breslin, S., & Higgott, R. (2000). Studying regions: learning from the old, constructing the new. New political economy, 5(3), 333-352.

Bretherton C. and Vogler J. (2006). The European Union as a Global Actor, 2nd, London: Routledge.

Caballero-Anthony M. (2020), “ASEAN’s Multilateral Path Through the Pandemic”, Current History, 119(818): 222-227.

Caballero-Anthony M. (2005), “SARS in Asia: crisis, vulnerabilities, and regional responses”. Asian Survey, 45(3): 475-495.

Cameron F. (2020), “EU-Asia should defend multilateralism”, Asia Europe Journal, 1-5.

Costa-i-Font, J. (2020), “The EU needs an independent public health authority to fight pandemics such as the COVID-19 crises”, Vox eBook Chapters, 1, 29-34.

De Coning C. (2020), How COVID-19 is impacting the African Union's operations, Retrieved (https://www.africaportal.org/features/covid-19-and-african-union/)

Debre M. J., H. Dijkstra (2020), “Institutional design for a post-liberal order: why some international organisations live longer than others”, European Journal of International Relations.

Debuysere L., S. Blockmans (2019), Europe ́s Coherence Gap in External Crisis and Conflict Management, Retrieved (https://www.ceps.eu/ceps-publications/europes-coherence-gap-in-external-crisis-and-conflict-management/)

Djalante R., J. Lassa, L. Nurhidayah, H. Van Minh, Y. Mahendradhata, N. T. N. Phuong, M. S. Sinapoy (2020), “The ASEAN’s responses to COVID-19: A policy sciences analysis”, PsyArXiv, 1-25.

Dodds, K., Broto, V. C., Detterbeck, K., ... & Woon, C. Y. (2020), “The COVID-19 pandemic: territorial, political and governance dimensions of the crisis”, Territory, Politics, Governance, 8 (3): 289-298

Doidge M., (2008), “Regional organisations as actors in international relations: interregionalism and asymmetric dialogues”, in: Rüland J, Schubert G, Schucher G, Storz C. (eds) Asian–European relations: building blocs for global governance? Routledge.

Dosch J. (2012), “Regional answers to the global crisis? Asia-Pacific multilateral organisations and the economic downturn”, in The Asia-Pacific, Regionalism and the Global System, Edward Elgar Publishing.

Dosch J. (2017), “The ASEAN economic community: Deep integration or just political window dressing?”, TRaNS: Trans-Regional and-National Studies of Southeast Asia, 5(1): 25.

European External Action (2016), A Global Strategy For The European Union's Foreign And Security Policy, Retrieved (https://eeas.europa.eu/sites/eeas/files/eugs_review_web_0.pdf)

European Commission (2020d), EU Research And Innovation In Action Against The Coronavirus : Funding, Results And Impact. Retrieved (https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/0ed2d5bf-09de-11eb-bc07-01aa75ed71a1/)

European Commission (2020e), Jobs And Economy During The Coronavirus Pandemic, Retrieved (https://ec.europa.eu/info/live-work-travel-eu/coronavirus-response/jobs-and-economy-during-coronavirus-pandemic_en)

European Commission (2020a), Key Enabling Technologies Policy, Retrieved (https://ec.europa.eu/info/research-and-innovation/research-area/industrial-research-and-innovation/key-enabling-technologies_en) .

European Commission (2020c), Press Corner, Retrieved (https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_20_604)

European Commission (2020b), Public Health, Retrieved (https://ec.europa.eu/info/live-work-travel-eu/coronavirus-response/public-health_en)

Eurostat (2020), China, US And EU Are The Largest Economies In The World, Retrieved (https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/documents/2995521/10868691/2-19052020-BP-EN.pdf/bb14f7f9-fc26-8aa1-60d4-7c2b509dda8e)

Estadão Conteúdo (2020), Por covid-19, Argentina abandona negociações e rompe com Mercosul, Retrieved (https://exame.com/economia/por-covid-19-argentina-rompe-com-mercosul/)

Fidler D. P. (2007), “Architecture amidst anarchy: global health’s quest for governance”, Glob Health Gov, 1 (1):1–15

Fioramonti L. (2012), Regions And Crises: New Challenges For Contemporary Regionalisms, New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

Fioramonti, L., and Mattheis, F. (2016), “Is Africa Really Following Europe? An Integrated Framework for Comparative Regionalism”, JCMS: Journal of Common Market Studies, 54: 674– 690.

Fook L. (2020), “The Fight Against COVID-19: China’s Shifting Narrative and Southeast Asia”, ISEAS PERSPECTIVE ISSUE, (26): 1-8.

Frenkel A. (2020), “El Mercosur ante la COVID-19: de la disputa comercial a la amenaza sanitaria”, Análisis Carolina, 40: 1-14.

Gauttam P., B. Singh, J. Kaur (2020), “COVID-19 and Chinese Global Health Diplomacy: Geopolitical Opportunity for China’s Hegemony?”, Millennial Asia, 1-23.

Gertis N., G. Casanova (2020), Regionalism In Times Of Crisis: Lessons From The EU And UNASUR – IFAIR. Retrieved (https://ifair.eu/2020/08/20/regionalism-in-times-of-crisis-lessons-from-the-eu-and-unasur/)

Gómez-Martos, F. J. (2020), “The importance of the moral dimension in the European project”, Fondation Robert Schuman, (570): 1-9.

Gostyńska-Jakubowska A., L. Scazzieri (2020), The EU Needs To Step Up Its Response To The COVID-19 Outbreak. Retrieved September 23, 2020.

(https://www.cer.eu/sites/default/files/insight_AG_LS_23.3.20.pdf)

Hartwig, I, P. Nicolaides (2003), “Elusive Solidarity in an Enlarged European Union”, European Institute of Public Administration, (3): 19-25. (https://www.eipa.eu/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/EIPAscope_2003_3.pdf)

Heisbourg F. (2020), “From Wuhan to the World: How the Pandemic Will Reshape Geopolitics”, Survival, 62 (3): 7-24.

Hettne B. (2005), “Beyond the ‘new’ regionalism”, New Political Economy, 10(4): 543-571.

Hettne, B., F. Söderbaum (1998), “The New Regionalism Approach”, Politeia, 17(3): 1-18.

Hix S., B. Hoyland (1999), “Introduction: Explaining the EU Political System”, in: S. Hix and B. Hoyland, (eds.) The Political System of the European Union, London: Palgrave Macmillan, pp.1-18.

Holden P. (2020), Regional Integration and Trade in the Era of COVID-19: A First Look, Devon: UNU Institute on Comparative Regional Integration Studies.

Hulse M. (2014), “Actorness beyond the European Union: Comparing the International Trade Actorness of SADC and ECOWAS”, Journal of Common Market Studies, 52(3): 547–565.

Hutter S.; Kriesi H. (2019) “Politicizing Europe in times of crisis”, Journal of European Public Policy, 26:7, 996-1017.

Hwee-Yeo L. (2020), “Impact of Covid-19 pandemic on Asia-Europe relations”, Asia Europe Journal, 18:235–238

Kasaija P. A. (2016), “The African Union and Regional Integration in Africa”, in D. H. Levine and D. Nagar (eds.), Region-Building in Africa, New York: Palgrave Macmillan,143-156.

Kapata N., C. Ihekweazu, F.Ntoumi, ... (2020), “Is Africa prepared for tackling the COVID-19 epidemic Lessons from past outbreaks, ongoing pan-African public health efforts, and implications for the future”, International Journal of Infectious Diseases, 93: 233-236.

Kim M. (2011), “Theorizing ASEAN integration”, Asian Perspective, 35(3): 407-435.

Kliem F. (2018), “ASEAN Imperfect: The Changing Nature of Southeast Asian Regionalism”, Panorama Journal: Insights into Asian and European Affairs, 1:23-33

Kuhn W., S. Damasceno (2018), “A Integração Regional Para O Fortalecimento Dos Sistemas De Saúde: O Caso Do Mercosul”, Brasília: Ministério da Saúde,185-200.

Kuhnhardt L. (2008), African Regional Integration and the Role of the European Union, Retrieved (https://www.files.ethz.ch/isn/55859/Africa_Reg_Integration.pdf)

Lamy M., K. H. Phua (2012), “Southeast Asian cooperation in health: a comparative perspective on regional health governance in ASEAN and the EU”, Asia Europe Journal, 10(4): 233-250.

Li-Lian, S.S. (2020), ASEAN’s Covid-19 Pandemic Response: Practical Next Steps, Retrieved 07 October, 2020 (https://think-asia.org/handle/11540/12096).

Liverani M., P. Hanvoravongchai, R. J. Coker (2012), “Communicable diseases and governance: A tale of two regions”, Global public health, 7(6): 574-587.

Magliveras K.D., G.J. Naldi (2002), “The African Union—A New Dawn for Africa?”, International and Comparative Law Quarterly, 51(2): 415–425.

Maier-Knapp, N. (2011), “Regional and interregional integrative dynamics of ASEAN and EU in response to the avian influenza”, Asia Europe Journal, 8(4):541-554.

Mariano K. (2020), Respostas Regionais À Pandemia: Cooperação Ou Nacionalismo? Retrieved (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJcdIpoJXTc&feature=youtube&t=2530).

Mearsheimer J.J. (1994), “The False Promise of International Institutions”, International Security, 19(3):5-49.

Melo D S.N, Papageorgiou M. (2021), “Interregionalism Responses amid the COVID-19 Crisis: The Case of EU, ASEAN, AU and MERCOSUR”, in G. Rached and J. A. de Lira (eds.), Diálogos institucionais e políticas de enfrentamento da crise: Crise Pandêmica em Âmbito Global e Políticas Multilaterais, Rio de Janeiro: UFF:UNIRIO:UERJ, 45-49.

Mercosul (2020a), Declaração dos Ministros da Saúde do Mercosul a respeito da situação epidemiológica da Dengue, Sarampo e Coronavírus. ACTA N01/20.

Mercosul (2020c), Esforço Regional Contra A Pandemia:O MERCOSUL Aprovou Um Fundo De Emergência De US$ 16 Milhões Que Serão Destinados Totalmente Para Ao Combate Contra O COVID-19, Retrieved (https://www.mercosur.int/pt-br/esforco-regional-contra-a-pandemia-o-mercosul-aprovou-um-fundo-de-emergencia-de-us-16-milhoes-que-serao-destinados-totalmente-para-o-combate-contra-o-covid-19/)

Mercosul (2020b), Os Presidentes Da Região Acordam Medidas Para Combater O Covid-19, Retrieved (https://www.mercosur.int/pt-br/os-presidentes-da-regiao-acordam-medidas-para-combater-o-covid-19/)

Mistry P. S. (1999), “The New Regionalism: Impediment or Spur to Future Multilateralism?”, In Hettne B., Inotai A., Sunkel O. (eds), Globalism and the New Regionalism. The New Regionalism, London: Palgrave Macmillan.

Mittelman J. (1999), “Rethinking the 'New Regionalism' in the Context of Globalization”, in B. Hettne, A. Inotai and O. Sunkel, (eds.), Globalism and the New Regionalism, New York:ST Martin's Press, pp.25-53.

Moreno-Lax, V. (2017), “Solidarity’s Reach: Meaning, Dimensions and Implications for EU (External) Asylum Policy”, Maastricht Journal of European and Comparative Law, 24 (5):740–762.

Neves B., G. Costa (2020), E O Mercosul? Os Impasses Regionais Diante Da Pandemia De Covid-19, Retrieved (http://observatorio.repri.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Dossi%C3%AA-2020-Pt-2020-11-26-dragged-5.pdf)

Nikogosian H. (2020), “Regional Integration, Health Policy and Global Health”, Global Policy, 11: 508-514.

Obaseki D., B. Adeniyi, T. Kolawole, .. (2015), “Gaps in capacity for respiratory care in developing countries: Nigeria as a case study”, Annals of the American Thoracic Society, 12(4): 591-598.

Osuji O. (2020), “African Union and Public Health Crises in a Regional Legal Order”, in: C. Ferstman and A. Fagan (eds.), Covid-19, Law and Human Rights : Essex Dialogues. A Project of the School of Law and Human Rights Centre. University of Essex, 41 - 50.

Otu A., B. Ebenso, R. Labonte, S. Yaya (2020), “Tackling COVID-19: Can the African continent play the long game?.” Journal of global health, 10(1) 1-5.

Papageorgiou M., D. S. N. Melo (2020),“Regional responses to COVID-19: a comparative analysis of EU and ASEAN policies to counter the pandemic.", Perspectives on Federalism, 12 (1) 68-85.

Patterson, A. S., & Balogun, E. (2021). African Responses to COVID-19: The Reckoning of Agency?. African Studies Review, 1-24.

Patrício M. (2013), “The process of integration in MERCOSUL: special and updates”, Direito e Justiça, 39(1): 41-47.

Pennisi di Floristella A. (2013), “Are non-traditional security challenges leading regional organisations towards greater convergence?”, Asia Europe Journal, 11: 21–38

Rattanasevee P. (2014a), “Leadership in ASEAN: The Role of Indonesia Reconsidered”, Asian Journal of Political Science, 22 (2): 113-127

Rattanasevee P. (2014b), “Towards institutionalised regionalism: the role of institutions and prospects for institutionalisation in ASEAN”, SpringerPlus, 3(1): 1-10.

Riggirozzi P. (2014a), “Regionalism, activism, and rights: New opportunities for health diplomacy in South America”, Review of International Studies, 41(2): 407-428.

Riggirozzi P. (2014b), “Regionalism through social policy: collective action and health diplomacy in South America”, Economy and Society, 43(3): 432-454.

Riggirozzi P. (2020), The Sobering Reality of Unpredicted Scenarios: COVID-19, Health and Regional Politics in Latin America, UNU-CRIS 2020. Retrieved (https://cris.unu.edu/covid19-health-and-politics-latin-america)

Risse T. (2014), “No demos? Identities and public spheres in the Euro crisis”, Journal of Common Market Studies, 52(6): 1207–1215.

Saurugger, S., & Terpan, F. (2016), “Regional integration in times of crises: Comparative regional integration approaches and institutional change”, Crisis and Institutional Change in Regional Integration, 1-20.

Seung-Youn Oh. (2020), From a ‘super spreader of MERS‘ to a ‘super stopper‘ of COVID-19: Explaining the Evolution of South Korea’s Effective Crisis Management System, Journal of Asian Public Policy.

Smith, M. (2018), “The EU, the US and the crisis of contemporary multilateralism”, Journal of European Integration, 40(5):539–553.

Söderbaum F. (2016), “Old, New, and Comparative Regionalism: The History and Scholarly Development of the Field”, in Börzel, T. A. and Risse, T. (eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Comparative Regionalism, Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Ståhl, T. P. (2010), “Is health recognized in the EU's policy process? An analysis of the European Commission's impact assessments”, European Journal of Public Health, 20(2): 176–181.

Stellinger A., I. Berglund, H. Isakson (2020), “How trade can fight the pandemic and contribute to global health”, COVID-19 and Trade Policy: Why Turning Inward Won’t Work, 21.

Suominen K. (2005), Globalizing regionalism: Harnessing regional organisations to meet global threats, Bruges: UNU Institute on Comparative Regional Integration Studies.

Telò, M. (2019), Regional diversity, interregional/transregional dialogues and the new multilateralism. Regionalism and Multilateralism, in Politics, Economics, Culture.(1st ed.). Routledge.

Tsjeng H. Z., S. Ho (2020), The ASEAN led multilateral order : unravelling?, Singapore: Nanyang Technological University.

Tussie D. (2003), “Regionalism: Providing a Substance to Multilateralism?” in: F. Söderbaum and T. Shaw, (eds.), Theories of New Regionalism: A Palgrave Reader, New York: Palgrave Macmillan, pp.99-116.

US Department of State (UDOS) (2020),U.S. Support for ASEAN in Fighting COVID-19, Retrieved (https://www.state.gov/u-s-support-for-asean-in-fighting-covid-19)

Verhaegen, S.(2018), “What to expect from European identity? Explaining support for solidarity in times of crisis”, Comparative European Politics 16 (5): 871–904.

Verma, R. (2020), “China’s ‘mask diplomacy to change the COVID-19 narrative in Europe”, Asia Europe Journal, 1.

Wadoum R., A. Clarke (2020), “How prepared is Africa to face COVID-19?”, The Pan African medical journal, 35(2): 1.

Waltz, Kenneth N. (2000),“Structural Realism after the Cold War” Quarterly Journal: International Security, 25 (1): 5-41 .

Weiffen, B. (2020), “Stress factors and their impact on regionalism”, in D. Nolte, & B. Weiffen, Regionalism Under Stress: Europe and Latin America in Comparative Perspective. London: Routledge. pp 15-34.

Wong, S. (2018) “ASEAN Braces For a Risen China”, ASEAN Focus, Issue 6/2018.

Zsombor P. (2020), Experts Doubt Low Coronavirus Counts of Some Southeast Asian Countries, 2020, Retrieved (https://www.voanews.com/science-health/coronavirus-outbreak/experts-doubt-low-coronavirus-counts-some-southeast-asian)


Full Text: PDF

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.
کاغذ a4

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribuzione - Non commerciale - Non opere derivate 3.0 Italia License.