The Institutionalization Of Regional Consensus

For a long time,the study of regional institution and regional governance has occupied a place in the theory of international relations.As a bridge between the state and the world,the essential role of the region is "construction".In a sense,the relations between regions and states,regions and the world are mutually constructed.The state,as an actor,constructs regional social structure through international interaction,which in turn constrains and constructs national interests and identity.Region can be understood as an institutionalized structure constructed by ideas.Some ideational factors fall into the category of reasons for actions,which not the same as causes of actions.Because of this reason,the causal factor will have a specific role.If there is no such "premise reason",the same "cause factor" cannot produce the same causal effect.Therefore,it is the theoretical basis of this paper to emphasize the role of ideational factors in the construction of regional institution,and the core of this paper is to study the institutionalization of regional consensus.In order to study the institutionalization of regional consensus,this paper mainly adopts the constructivism method with sociology as the main body,emphasizing the concepts of inter-subjectivity and social facts.In addition,considering the theoretical limitations of constructivism,it also draws on the methods of historical materialism and historical comparative institutional analysis.In order to deeply analyze this process,four variables were been selected: crisis management,common interests,international coordination and collective intention,and fully demonstrate the construction or causal relationship between these four variables.Among them,concepts related to "crisis management" include "existential threat,decisive event,external stimulus,common threat and common destiny";international coordination generally includes "international negotiation,multilateral conference";concepts related to "collective intention" include "Inter-subjectivity,shared idea,collective commitment,collective rationality and mutual trust.The research hypothesis are as follows.Firstly,the institutionalization of regional consensus mainly occurs in the process of transformation from Hobbes' anarchic culture to Locke's anarchic culture and Kant's anarchic culture,which can also be understood as the process from "antagonistic" consensus to "competitive" and "cooperative" consensus,which is the result of international practice and interactive construction.Secondly.Only when the actors reach a collective intention of cooperation on a certain issue,can the regional institutional facts be further constructed.Thirdly.The institutionalization of regional consensus refers to the construction of collective intention through international coordination in the regional international community based on the needs of common interests and crisis management;after reaching the collective intention,continue to construct the international institution through international coordination,and international coordination runs through the whole institutionalization process.Forth.The institutionalization of regional consensus generally starts from the sub-regional consensus represented by small-scale Member States,and gradually spreads from the core to the edge.In other words,the sub-regional international institution can be expanded into regional / cross regional international institution in some way.In order to observe the institutionalization process of regional consensus and the similarities and differences of the four variables in different cases,based on a full review of various regional / global international institution cases,we will divide them into three dimensions according to "sub-regional-regional(cross regional)-Global".First of all,in the dimension of "cross regional" expanding to "global",we select two groups of cases,namely "Concert of Europe–League of Nations–United Nations" and "G7–G20" for comparative analysis.Secondly,in the dimension of "sub-region" to "region",we focus on the typical regional institutionalization process of "ECSC–EC–EU".Third,in the "sub-regional" dimension,three cases are selected,namely,the Visegrad group,the SCO and the "ASEAN +" institutions group.These three dimensions are not only used to verify research variables and hypotheses,butalso provide a variety of possibilities for the institutionalization of regional consensus.The main conclusions are as follows.Firstly,the general experience of institutionalization of regional consensus is basically consistent with the research hypothesis.Among them,common interest is the premise of the formation and development of regional consensus;crisis management creates conditions for the formation of regional consensus and provides opportunities for the institutionalization process;international coordination is the necessary way for the formation and institutionalization of regional consensus;collective intention is the initial state of institutionalization.It can be said that in order to realize institutionalization,the collective intention must be formed among the actors first.Secondly,the state is the main actor of the international society,which is an international intermediary of regional social forces and domestic social forces;Regional consensus is the result of the transformation of regional society among three kinds of anarchic cultures(Hobbes',Locke's and Kant's anarchic Culture),the result of the construction of international interaction,and the common conceptual structure among countries in the region;Regional consensus is a consensus formed under the condition of interdependence among countries,and on this basis,regional consensus is institutionalized.Thirdly,as for the institutionalization of regional consensus,there are also the following influencing factors,such as regional powers,the number of actors,functional spillover and the degree of interdependence.Finally,it is easier to reach consensus and institutionalize at the regional level than at the global level.