相對於以冷戰時期兩極結構爲背景,由少數強權以傳統地緣概念,由上而下進行控制的舊區域主義,新區域主義不但形成於呈現多極化國際格局的冷戰後期,其整合途徑也凸顯出某種功能主義式由下而上的外溢特徵。從另一個角度來看,自從區域化與區域主義引發學術界關注以來,相關案例研究幾乎都集中於歐洲與北美地區,尤其是從早期西歐地區整合到現今歐洲聯盟的發展歷程;雖然前述經驗確可作爲其他地區的借鏡,但畢竟不同地區在政治、經濟、文化、歷史背景等方面都大相逕庭,這既意味著歐洲模式未必適用於全球各地,也暗示我們或許必須針對東亞找到某種具地區特色的合作途徑。爰此,本文便嘗試以「微區域合作」概念與湄公河區域整合經驗爲例,對此進行初步思考。
Being an outgrowth of the process of globalization, so-called ”new” regionalism based on the idea that one can't isolate trade and economy from the rest of society, in contrast to ”old” regionalism which also known as classic regionalism was primarily seen as a process of economic integration. According to some scholars, this movement began to gather speed in the late 1980s. Anyway, though most case study about the regionalism focused on Europe and North America, especially the development of EU and NAFTA, it still does not necessarily imply that the EU model could be used all over the world. Because there are actually some differences between the experiences of EU and other regions, in this paper, I would try to use the Southeast Asia as example, especially to focus on the Makong Basin, to observing the possible development of micro-regionalism.