ABSTRACT
Challenges of the twenty first century may pressure states to respond in ways that may redefine what it means to be a state in a globalized and regionalized economy. States hope to use regionalism to make their way in an evolving world political economy. The prospects for regionalism in Europe, the Asia Pacific, and North America confront six basic questions. The chapter addresses these questions with respect to North America, although they are important for the Asia Pacific and for Europe as well. At the dawn of the twenty first century, North America is situated somewhere between simple hegemony and complex partnership. Resisting North American regionalism is about who wins what and how much. It is the classic struggle over the distribution of gains. North America involves greater interdependence between North and South and between firms, groups, peoples, and states as their destinies become entwined.
