Identity as a Foundation for Integration

Summary

This article marks the beginning of my research program on regional integration. This first exploratory study concludes that trade agreements are not enough to unite societies that do not recognize themselves as part of the same project. Drawing on constructivism and the cases of the European Union, the Arab League, and UNASUR, the work shows how collective identity and citizen participation can strengthen or weaken regional integration. The study lays the foundations for the later theory of identity-based integration.