Fragmentation vs. Integration? Regionalism in the Age of Globalization

In the following, I will outline central hypotheses and results from an empirical project which focused on the influence of globalization on regionalist conflicts. To understand the connection between the two phenomena, globalization must be operationalised in a way that helps us identify aspects which could influence the state's capacity for territorial management as well as regionalist motives and goals. The results of the empirical study show that globalization can support regionalist movements and at the same time restrict their options, depending on their ability to adapt. However, whether they are able to exploit the changing opportunity structures is highly dependent on internal factors and, therefore, path-dependent. Globalization will support only certain types of regionalism, therefore leading to pronounced asymmetrical challenges for the nation state. The study was part of a larger project on social responses to globalization, directed by Michael Zürn at the University of Bremen and funded by the German Science Foundation.