CIVIL SOCIETY AND REGIONAL INTEGRATION Bertrand Laurent

Throughout the history of democracy civil society organizations have evolved to defend and promote their members' interests at the level of national policymaking, and are hardly present at the regional level. Because major policy decisions are increasingly being taken at the regional level by regional intergovernmental organizations, civil society is faced with a fundamental challenge of relevance. Where regional civil society organizations do exist, their membership is often over-representative of one or a few countries, causing an asymmetric representation at the regional level. The risks are significant. Popular dissatisfaction with regional institutions, due to stakeholders' limited or nonexistent voice at regional level, have reactionary domestic level repercussions with political consequences, and can result in disengagement of governments from regional structures. It can be demonstrated that strong regional civil society, i.e. in which domestic civil society is well represented, is necessary for strong regional government associations. What will be the role of regional associations in the Middle East as democratic governance models are established in the region, and what relationships will civil society groups have with them? What will be the role of CARICOMs Single Market and Economy in building the regions competitiveness in the global economy, and how will the Caribbeans civic associations (and its highly asymmetrical regional CSOs) ensure that their members concerns are equitably reflected? Regional international associations are sustained when member countries' domestic civil society organizations are integrated into regional civil society associations. A country's integration into a regional community is strengthened when its civil society is integrated into regional civil society. Intergovernmental protocols, treaties, and agreements are not sufficient for a country to be successfully integrated into a regional association. For regional integration to be successful, national-level civil society must be integrated into regional civil society. Integration of domestic civil society organizations into regional civil society is critical for sustainable regional integration. Absence of a strong role for regional civil society compromises the effectiveness of regional intergovernmental organizations. 2006, re-edited 2009 Bertrand Laurent, The Caribbean Institute for Sustainable Development