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THEORETICAL APPROACH TO THE CONCEPT OF REGIONNESS

O. Gubova

Abstract

One of the crucial moments of today’s global acceleration is systematic changes of international relations and potential role of regional organizations in this interactive process. This should be an opportunity not only for small and medium states, whose positions in international relations are increasingly marginalized. Interconnection of states, in particular for the needs of self-assertion in international relations, should therefore be a logical step for promotion the interests of states in politics. This is too often hampered, however, by short-sighted policy. Nevertheless, the source of the functionality of macro-regions is - both internally and externally - the extent of their internal ability to act given their geopolitical situation a historical development. Although regionalization is always the will and vision of politicians, does not depend solely on political decision making. Notwithstanding the evidence, it is often difficult to distinguish what are utilitarian short-term interests of states and what the long-term potential of forming stable regional organization. The geopolitical position of states, their history and political culture – these characteristics are source of potential for long-term regionalization on level of macro-regions. Since the 90s of the last century has been theory of contemporary regionalism comprehensively developing at the University of Göteborg in Sweden. Björn Hettne and later Fredric Söderbaum offer within theory of regionalism concept of regionness, which refer to internal capacity to create regions and also to the levels or regionalization. High regionness refers to strong tendency to regionalization, when low regionness causes weak tendency to regionness. The aim of this article is to demonstrate the concept of regionness in its historical genesis based on an analysis of articles of authors- creators, Björn Hettne and co-author Björn Hettne and Fredrik Söderbaum from 1993 to 2016.

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