Introduction

While it is easy to draw a picture of the twentieth century as steeped in blood and conflict, it is important also to see that this period witnessed many different efforts by both states and individuals to overcome national rivalries and to encourage co­operation between countries and peoples.

However, while internationalist dreams of a move towards enlightened world governance were dashed on these rocks, a new path began to emerge in the post-1945 era — the emergence of continental or regional supra-governmental

League of Nations

An international organization established in 1919 by the peace treaties that ended the First World War. Its purpose was to promote international peace through collective security and to organize conferences on economic and disarmament issues. It was formally dissolved in 1946.

collective security

The principle of maintaining peace between states by mobilizing international opinion to condemn aggression. Commonly seen as one of the chief purposes of international organizations such as the League of Nations and the United Nations.

United Nations (UN)

An international organization established after the Second World War to replace the League of Nations. Since its establishment in 1945, its membership has grown to 192 countries.

European Economic Community (EEC) Established by the Treaty of Rome 1957, the EEC became effective on 1 January 1958. Its initial members were Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and West Germany (now Germany); it was known informally as the Common Market. The EEC's aim was the eventual economic union of its member nations, ultimately leading to political union. It changed its name to the European Union in 1992.

European Community (EC)

Formed in 1967 with the fusion of the European Economic Community (EEC, founded in 1957), the European Atomic Energy Community (EURATOM, also founded in 1957), and the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC, founded in 1952). The EC contained many of the functions of the European Union (EU, founded in 1992). Unlike the later EU, the EC consisted primarily of economic agreements between member states.

organizations that aimed at the development of economic, social and even political integration. The most successful of these experiments in the pooling of sovereignty took place in Europe with the birth of the European Economy Community (EEC) in 1958 and its evolution into, first, the European Community (EC) and, finally, the European Union (EU). The fact that the EEC was able through economic integration to transform war-torn Western Europe into a zone of peace and prosperity not surprisingly inspired statesmen in other parts of the globe to try to follow suit. They were to do so with mixed results. Some regional organ­izations, such as the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN), echoed the achievements of the EEC by also bringing economic and political cohesion to previously troubled regions. Others though, such as the largely abortive calls for integration in East Asia, have been less effective. In these cases, however, the reasons for failure, such as the fear of the consequences of pooling sovereignty and the lack of strong political incentives underpinning the integration process, are still important to study, for ironically they help to highlight the causes of success in Europe and South-East Asia.