ABSTRACT
The volume distinguishes between historical turning points and critical junctures. Regional institution-building is a historical process defined by relatively long periods of path-dependent stability which are punctuated by episodes of institutional flux. Rapid institutional change is possible during historical turning points and critical junctures. In contrast to critical junctures which open new pathways of institutional development, including disintegration, historical turning points tend to accelerate institution-building along the already established pathway. This chapter will illustrate this point by looking at the geopolitical, economic and normative changes that swept through the world between 1986–1994, triggered a global resurgence of regional institution-building – the so-called new regionalism.
