Regionalism on the Run: ASEAN, EU, AU and MERCOSUR Responses Amid the COVID-19 Crisis

The transnational nature of COVID-19 created expectations of regionally-led initiatives to address this global challenge. The pandemic has transcended health issues accounting for several political and socioeconomic implications. This study seeks to investigate four regional organisations' responses during the 'first wave' to unravel regionalism's role in a time of crisis. To do so, the method of comparative analysis has been employed. ASEAN, EU, AU and MERCOSUR, four distinct organisations were selected to evaluate their responses in terms of crisis management efficacy, level of solidarity, promotion of multilateralism and international actorness. The findings highlight each organisation's successes and shortcomings while indicating the limits of regional cooperation in effectively responding to outbreaks of infectious diseases. This empirical analysis shows that regional responses were limited and mainly facilitated national policies. This further indicates regional organisations' inability to have a more proactive role in crisis management, boost their actorness and advance more inclusive and responsive global governance.

新冠疫情的跨国属性，催生了各方对区域主导型应对举措的期待，以期破解这一全球性挑战。此次大流行早已超越健康议题范畴，衍生出诸多政治与社会经济层面的连锁影响。本研究旨在考察四大区域组织在疫情‘第一波’暴发期间的应对举措，以揭示危机时刻区域主义所发挥的作用。为此，本研究采用比较分析法作为核心研究方法。本研究选取东南亚国家联盟（ASEAN）、欧盟（EU）、非洲联盟（AU）与南方共同市场（MERCOSUR）四家各具特色的区域组织，从危机治理效能、团结协作水平、多边主义推广程度以及国际行为体属性（international actorness）四个维度，对其疫情应对举措展开评估。研究结果既点明了各组织的优势与不足，也揭示了区域合作在有效应对传染病暴发过程中存在的局限性。本次实证分析显示，区域层面的应对举措存在诸多局限，且主要起到辅助各国政策落地的作用。这进一步表明，区域组织难以在危机治理中发挥更具前瞻性的作用，难以强化自身的国际行为体属性，也难以推动构建更具包容性与响应性的全球治理体系。