Policy Forum

The emergence of terrorism in various countries of the West in the 21st century and the global financial crisis that began on Wall Street in the United States in 2008 have created doubt toward the US-led neoliberal economic order across the world. Amidst these circumstances, the Brexit referendum of May 2016 and the victory of Donald Trump in the US presidential election of the same year have led numerous experts to voice the sense of threat that the liberal international order is facing a crisis. Indeed, the two most noteworthy phenomena within the international economy in early 2017 were Brexit and the changes in the US trade policy, which both represent a significant reflection of national interest.
Regionalism is a political, economic and social process to induce regional cooperation through multilateralism and democratic governance based on globalism as the product of liberalism. Under this premise, this paper aims to discuss the direction of change in regionalism since the crisis of liberalism and our response, following the functional development of regionalism under the US-led international liberal reality and liberal foundation that had continued since the mid-20th century. This paper asserts that, whereas international relations prior to liberalism could be explained from a Hobbesian perspective and the mechanisms of liberalism were based on Millian and Lockian relations, international relations and regionalism after liberalism must be established through more reciprocal and horizontal relationships based on social, cultural and moral norms. In other words, this paper recognizes the need to surpass Hobbesian animosity and Lockian competition, perceiving the definition of relationships from a Kantian perspective as “friendship,” which may become a core challenge in the future. Recent discussions of “progressive liberalism” or “post-liberalism” advocate the need to restore economic justice and reciprocity, emphasize social solidarity and philanthropic relationships, break away from politics as a means to protect the vested interests of a powerful minority, share a sense of identity, allow civil society to become the mediator of harmony between the market and the state in order to transition toward a politics of many based on balanced interests. In conclusion, the concept of liberalism must present a new logical basis in response to the historical challenge that it faces, and strive to surpass material constraints in presenting the logic of altruism without contradictions, as opposed to the definition of ethical concepts for the logic and legitimization of self-interest. However, it cannot be overlooked that the issue of survival remains a fundamental part of international relations in reality. Nonetheless, this paper emphasizes that this factor does not necessarily connote a selective survival between life and death, but rather the realization of self-interest through autonomy. In the future, regionalism must contemplate its response to the dual challenges of enhancing autonomy and resolving the formation of competing blocs.