Regional integration is a process in which states enter into a regional agreement in order to enhance regional cooperation through regional institutions and rules. The objectives of the agreement could range from economic to political, although it has generally become a political economy initiative where commercial purposes are the means to achieve broader socio-political and security objectives. It could be organized either on a supranational or an intergovernmental decision-making institutional order, or a combination of both.

Past efforts at regional integration have often focused on removing barriers to free trade in the region, increasing the free movement of people, labour, goods, and capital across national borders, reducing the possibility of regional armed conflict (for example, through Confidence and Security-Building Measures), and adopting cohesive regional stances on policy issues, such as the environment, climate change and migration.

Regional integration has been defined as an association of states based upon location in a given geographical area, for the safeguarding or promotion of the participants, an association whose terms are fixed by a treaty or other arrangements^{[citation needed]}. Philippe De Lombaerde and Luk Van Langenhove define regional integration as a worldwide phenomenon of territorial systems that increase the interactions between their components and create new forms of organisation, co-existing with traditional forms of state-led organisation at the national level.^[1] According to Hans van Ginkel, regional integration refers to the process by which states within a particular region increase their level of interaction with regard to economic, security, political, and also social and cultural issues.^[2]

In short, regional integration is the joining of individual states within a region into a larger whole. The degree of integration depends upon the willingness and commitment of independent sovereign states to share their sovereignty. Deep integration that focuses on regulating the business environment in a more general sense is faced with many difficulties^[3].

Regional integration initiatives, according to Van Langenhove, should fulfil at least eight important functions:

• the strengthening of trade integration in the region
• the creation of an appropriate enabling environment for private sector development
• the development of infrastructure programmes in support of economic growth and regional integration
• the development of strong public sector institutions and good governance;
• the reduction of social exclusion and the development of an inclusive civil society
• contribution to peace and security in the region
• the building of environment programmes at the regional level
• the strengthening of the region’s interaction with other regions of the world.^[4]

The crisis of the post-war order led to the emergence of a new global political structure. This new global political structure made obsolete the classical Westphalian concept of a system of sovereign states to conceptualise world politics. The concept of sovereignty becomes looser and the old legal definitions of an ultimate and fully autonomous power of a nation-state are no longer meaningful. Sovereignty, which gained meaning as an affirmation of cultural identity, has lost meaning as power over the economy. All regional integration projects during the Cold War were built on the Westphalian state system and were to serve economic growth as well as security motives in their assistance to state building goals. Regional integration and globalisation are the two phenomena challenging the existing global order based upon sovereign states at the beginning of the twenty-first century. The two processes deeply affect the stability of the Westphalian state system, thus contributing to both disorder and a new global order.

Closer integration of neighbouring economies is seen as a first step in creating a larger regional market for trade and investment. This works as a spur to greater efficiency, productivity gain and competitiveness, not just by lowering border barriers, but by reducing other costs and risks of trade and investment. Bilateral and sub-regional trading arrangements are advocated as development tools as they encourage a shift towards greater market openness. Such agreements can also reduce the risk of reversion towards protectionism, locking in reforms already made and encouraging further structural adjustment.

In broad terms, the desire for closer integration is usually related to a larger desire for opening to the outside world. Regional economic cooperation is being pursued as a means of promoting development through greater efficiency, rather than as a means of disadvantaging others. Most of the members of these arrangements are genuinely hoping that they will succeed as building blocks for progress with a growing range of partners and towards a generally freer and open global environment for trade and investment. Integration is not an end in itself, but a process to support economic growth strategies, greater social equality and democratisation.

Regional integration arrangements are a part and parcel of the present global economic order and this trend is now an acknowledged future of the international scene. It has achieved a new meaning and new significance. Regional integration arrangements are mainly the outcome of necessity felt by nation-states to integrate their economies in order to achieve rapid economic development, decrease conflict, and build mutual trusts between the integrated units. The nation-state system, which has been the predominant pattern of international relations since the Peace of Westphalia in 1648 is evolving towards a system in which regional groupings of states is becoming more important than sovereign states. There is a powerful perception that the idea of the state and its sovereignty has been made irrelevant by processes that are taking place at both the global and local level. Walter Lippmann believes that, "the true constituent members of the international order of the future are communities of states."^[5] E.H. Carr shares Lippmann view about the rise of regionalism and regional arrangements and commented that, "the concept of sovereignty is likely to become in the future even more blurred and indistinct than it is at present."^[6]

Regional integration agreements (RIAs)has lead to major development in the international relations among many countries which has also lead to the mutual understanding among many countries. There has been also increase in the overall trade in the international level due to these agreements. In the context of the Global scenario, there has been a spurt in the context of regional trading blocs. This would contribute to one of the major advances in International relations in recent years. In such context, the whole aspect of a Regional Integration Agreement has gained high importance. Not only are almost all the industrial nations part of such agreements, but it is seen that a huge number of developing nations, to are a part of at least one, in cases, more than one such agreement.

The amount of trade that takes place within the scope of such agreements is about 35%, which accounts to more than one-third of the trade in the world. The main objective these agreement is to reduce the barriers related to the trade among various nations but the structure may vary from one agreement to another. The removal of the trade barriers among various nations by these agreement has lead to liberalized economy in many country which had brought significant economic development among these countries. A number of agreements notified to GATT and WTO is signed in each year has dramatically increased from 1990s. There were 194 agreement notified in 1999 and it contained 94 agreements form the early 1990s^[7] .
The last few years have experienced a huge qualitative as well as quantitative changes in the agreement related to the Regional Integration Scheme. The top three major changes were:

• Deep Integration Recognition
• Closed regionalism to open model
• Advent of trade blocs

Deep Integration Recognition analyses the aspect that effective integration is a much broader aspect, surpassing the idea that reducing tariffs, quotas and barriers will provide effective solutions. Rather, it recognizes the concept that additional barriers tend to segment the markets. This in turn impedes the free flow of goods and services, along with ideas and investments. Hence, it is now recognized that the current framework of traditional trade policies are not adequate enough to tackle these barriers. Such deep-integration was first implemented in the Single Market Program in the European Union. However in the light of the modern context, this debate is being propounded into the clauses of different regional integration agreements arising out of increase in international trade.^[8] (EU).

The change from a system of Closed regionalism to a more Open Model had arisen out of the fact that the section of trading blocs that were created among the developing countries during the 1960's and 1970's were based on certain specific models such as those of import substitution as well as regional agreements coupled with the prevalence generally high external trade barriers. The positive aspects of such shifting is that there has been some restructuring of certain old agreements. These agreements tend to be more forward in their outward approach as well as show commitment in trying to advance international trade and commerce instead to trying to put a cap on it by way of strict control. ^[9]

The Advent of Trade Blocs tend to draw in some parity between high-income industrial countries and developing countries with a much lower income base in that they tend to serve as equal partners under such a system. The concept of equal partners grew out of the concept of providing reinforcement to the economies to all the member countries. Under these section the various countries agree upon the fact that they will help economies to maintain the balance of trade between and prohibit the entry of other countries in their trade process.

An important example of this would be the North American Free Trade Area (NAFTA), formed in 1994 when the Canada - U. S. Free Trade Agreement was extended to Mexico. Another vibrant example would entail as to how EU has formed linkages incorporating the transition economies of Eastern Europe through the Europe Agreements. It has signed agreements with the majority of Mediterranean countries by highly developing the EU-Turkey customs union and a Mediterranean policy.^[10]

The regional integration in Europe took place in the Treaty on the European Union (the Maastricht Treaty) in November 1993. There was also a formation of the European Community. There was also formation of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA). There was also the formation of North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) which is a free trade arrangement of North America formed in January 1994^[11] . subsequently there was formation of the Latin America initiated the Southern Common Market Treaty (MERCOSUR) in January 1995. In The Pacific there was the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) in 1993 which looked into reducing the tarrifs. The AFTA started in full swing in 2000.

• Free trade area
• European integration

• Bösl, Anton, Breytenbach, Willie, Hartzenberg, Trudi, McCarthy, Colin, Schade, Klaus (Eds), Monitoring Regional Integration in Southern Africa, Yearbook Vol 8 (2008), Stellenbosch 2009. ISBN 9780981422121
• Claar, Simone and Noelke Andreas (2010), Deep Integration. In: D+C, 2010/03, 114-117.
• Haas, Ernst B. (1964). Beyond the Nation State: Functionalism and International Organization. Stanford: Stanford University Press. ISBN 9780804701877
• Lindberg, Leon N., and Stuart A. Scheingold (eds.) (1971). Regional Integration: Theory and Research. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. ISBN 9780674753266
• Nye, Joseph S. (1971). Peace in Parts. Boston: Little, Brown. OCLC 159089 OCLC 246008784

• United Nations University Institute on Comparative Regional Integration Studies (UNU-CRIS)
• Towards Unity
• Asia Regional Integration Center