Regionalism appears, alongside globalisation, to be one of the forces shaping the world order of states today. It is credited with diminishing the power of traditional state sovereignty, especially evident in the example of the EU. Globalisation and nationalism are other forces which seem to be pulling apart the conventional role of states, but can regionalism to reconciled with these? Can regionalism be an intermediate community between the state and a potential global village? The apparent breakdown of the traditional role of the nation-state, if many ever really existed, gives the impression that world order is changing - regionalism and return to neo-medieval structure could provide an answer. This essay will examine whether regionalism can be a principal for a stable world order and how it will interact with globalisation and nationalism.

Firstly a definition of regionalism is needed and then the EU will be examined as an...