Is Regionalism a Way to Emerge in the "New" Multipolar Order?

Scientific Essay from the year 2009 in the subject Politics - International Politics - Region: Middle- and South America, University of Francisco Marroquín, Guatemala (-), course: Regionalism; Central America's integration; SICA, language: English, abstract: The ongoing political and economic trends influencing the present international order have led to the raise of new powerful actors which play actively in the global arena. Next to economic giants such as China, India or Russia, a different set of players is emerging thanks to the gradual process of regionalization. Regional blocs mainly based on economic cooperation are reshaping the global fragmentation of power, affecting in turn the status of their member states in the international order. In this essay two main aspects are taken into account: the structuring of a ¿new¿ multipolar order and the nature and role of regional blocs as actors operating in it. Thus a third level of analysis is introduced, consisting of the linkage between the emergence of regional blocs and the impact they have on the international strength of their member states. In order to provide a better understanding the author means to focus on the Central America Integration System (SICA) and evaluate whether or not it has influenced the current Meso-American countries¿ status in the ¿new¿ global system¿s structure, carrying out a comparison with the most developed regional bloc, the European Union (EU).