Revisiting Regionalism and the Contemporary World Order

Perspectives from the BRICS and beyond The book explores different questions, for example the status and role of BRICS in the changing international order; how countries in the Global South can use regionalism to change the world order; the competing worldviews that manifest themselves in the institutional variety of regionalism; and, most importantly, how all these changes push International Relations as a field to become more global, or at least to go beyond Westphalian thinking – thus bringing the role of multilateralism back to the discussion. The book critically analyzes the ongoing changes in the regional, intra-regional, and global dynamics of cooperation, from a multi-disciplinary and pluralist perspective. It is based on the insight that in a post-hegemonic world the formation of regions and the process of globalization can be largely disconnected from the orbit of the US, and that a plurality of power and worldviews has replaced US hegemony. In spite of these changes, most existing analyses of current changes in the world order still rely upon Western-centered approaches, and Westphalian thinking. Against this backdrop, the book proposes to advance a truly global IR understanding of the post-hegemonic world, and weaves together the pluralist and multi-disciplinary perspectives of scholars located all around the world. From the Contents: Introduction (Élise Féron, Jyrki Käkönen, Gabriel Rachel) ; Part 1 – BRICS countries: Emergence and challenges; Chapter 1 - Emergence of BRICS: An Extension of Interregionalism to the Global South (Shraddha Naik); Chapter 2 - BRICS and the Emergent Countries Agenda on the 21st Century: Scenarios and Perspectives (Gabriel Rached); Chapter 3 - Regionalism as Resistance? South Africa’s Utopia of Souths (Bianca Naude) Part 2 – Contemporary regionalism in practice Chapter 4 - Bilateralism and Multilateralism: Obstacles for the Sub-Regionalism in North Africa? (Karim Maiche); Chapter 5 - Coping with the changing World Order: The Case of Russia (Mikhaylenko E.B., Adami I.M.); Chapter 6 - From Offensive to Inclusive Regionalism - A Perspective into revival of ‘ambitious RTAs’ led by India, Japan and the EU for upholding a pluralistic international order (Marko Juutinen); Chapter 7 - Foot In the Door: China and the Arctic Council (Terry Mcdonald) Part 3 – Theoretical perspectives on the changing world order Chapter 8 - Beyond Ideology: a reassessment of regionalism and globalism in IR theory. The case of China (Giovanni Barbieri); Chapter 9 - Theorizing Maritime Regionalism for the Indian Ocean: Non-Eurocentric perspectives (Sanjay Chaturvedi); Chapter 10 - Changing international order, changing international thought: The case of China (Matti Puranen); Chapter 11 - International Relations in Finnish National Epos Kalevala. Encounter of historical epochs and civilizations in the changing international order (Jyrki Käkönen)