Continentalism in Europe
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Continentalism refers to the agreements or policies that favor the regionalization and/or cooperation between states within a continent. The term is used more often in the European and North American contexts, but the concept has been applied to other continents including Africa, Asia and South America. In North American history, continentalism became linked to manifest destiny and involved merging continental expansion with international growth.
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Historically, the United States of America saw itself as a blossoming continental nation-state. Accordingly, the first governing body for the North American colonists was called the Continental Congress, [1] [2] which sought to receive delegates from across the British colonized areas of the continent, including the future Canadian provinces of Quebec and Nova Scotia.
Continentalism in the United States was developed through the expeditions and experiences of frontier expansion on the American frontier. In the nineteenth century, the ideology of continentalism became internationalised by the growing concept of Manifest destiny, to create a belief amongst state and commercial leaders that the United States would help spread Western civilisation from Europe to the rest of the world. [3] Between 1840–1898, American continentalism began to involve ideas on overseas expansion, which would go on to influence the imperialistic foreign policies of Roosevelt and McKinley. [4]
Early United States continentalism involved the gradual absorption of North American territory into the U.S. There were various struggles of independence and expansionism in the United States between 1776–1865, including American settlers battling indigenous nations and efforts to buy territory from European imperial powers such as in the Louisiana purchase. American continentalism became an issue with global implications from the mid-nineteenth century as the United States grew as an economic and political power. Continental disputes with Canada were based on America vying for greater global economic power to challenge the British dominated marketplace, as they sought commercial control of Canadian natural resources and agriculture. [5] One benefit of the 1867 Alaska Purchase noted by Secretary of State William H. Seward was that it would make trade with the East easier, as he viewed that making America politically central would allow them to intercept European and Eastern trade effectively. [6] This idea of using the geographic advantages of the North American continent to intercept trade was mimicked by non-state actors, such as Perry Collins in 1865 who attempted to create a telegraph line stretching from British Columbia to Alaska and Siberia. [7]
Continentalism was replaced by a more colonialist approach to American foreign policy in the 1901 Insular Cases. The Supreme Court rulings decreed that citizens from the newly acquired territory of the Spanish–American War did not have the constitution applied to them; however, they were controlled by the U.S. judiciary. Within the United States, this led to a growth in nationalism due to the ideological separation between the nation and new territory it was colonising. Most of the inhabitants of the United States, if not all, call themselves "Americans" as a demonym, and say America to refer to the country instead of the continents of North and South America. For a more extensive discussion over this polemical case, read the main article: Use of the word American .
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In Canadian political history, continentalism has referred to policies that emphasize Canadian trade and economic ties within the North American continent, particularly with the United States, over those with the United Kingdom or within the British Empire. In the 19th century, continentalism was one of the three main theories of Canadian nationality, the others being pro-British imperialism, and Canadian independence.
The most extreme form of continentalism is annexationism, which advocates all or part of Canada joining the United States. Opponents of continentalism often argue that stronger ties with the United States could eventually lead to annexation, and that this is to be feared. Continentalists themselves may or may not be in favour of continuing to deepen ties with the United States beyond the economic and into areas like a customs union, common currency or political union.
The traditional proponent of continentalism was the Liberal Party of Canada, and particularly farmers and resource industries that advocated reciprocity (i.e., free trade) with the United States. The 1911 federal election was fought over the issue of a reciprocity agreement that the Liberal government of Wilfrid Laurier had negotiated with the United States, with the Conservatives of Robert Borden opposing reciprocity. The Conservatives won the election and cancelled the agreement.
However, the Progressive Conservative Party took on many continentalist policies beginning during the Brian Mulroney government in the 1980s, which promoted and successfully signed the Canada-US Free Trade Agreement and, later, the North American Free Trade Agreement. These policies were maintained by the Liberal and Conservative governments that followed.
Continentalism today is seen in both negative and positive terms. Canadian economic nationalists typically oppose continentalism. Opposing this, many pro-market libertarians and neo-conservatives tend to favour it, on the grounds that it opens up commercial and economic opportunities, allowing free trade between nations. As this process is taking place in parallel with and as part of a broader economic globalization, the increasing trade between Canada and the United States is not generally seen as a threat to Canadian sovereignty.
Continentalism in Africa, commonly referred to as Pan-Africanism, is a sociopolitical world view, philosophy, and movement that seeks to unify native Africans and members of the African diaspora into a "global African community". [8]
Modern Pan-Africanism began around the beginning of the twentieth century. The African Association, later renamed the Pan-African Association, was organized by Henry Sylvester Williams around 1887, and the first Pan-African Conference was held in 1900. [9] [10] [11]
Continentalism in South America is linked to and associated with Bolivarianism; a set of political doctrines that enjoys currency in parts of South America, especially Venezuela. Bolivarianism is named after Simón Bolívar, the 19th century Venezuelan general and liberator who led the struggle for independence throughout much of South America.
Modern support for Bolivarianism is especially evident in Venezuela and partly responsible for the founding of the Union of South American Nations. USAN is an intergovernmental union that integrated two existing customs unions: Mercosur and the Andean Community of Nations, as part of a continuing process of South American integration and is modeled on the European Union. [12] However, in 2019, rising concerns surrounding Nicolas Maduro's authoritarian rule in Venezuela split the Union, with the majority of South American states withdrawing from the USAN and joining the newly created Forum for the Progress and Integration of South America. [13] [14]
North America is a continent in the Northern and Western Hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Caribbean Sea, and to the west and south by the Pacific Ocean. The region includes Canada, the Caribbean, Central America, Greenland, Mexico, and the United States.
The Americas, sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World.
The Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) was a proposed agreement to eliminate or reduce the trade barriers among all countries in the Americas, excluding Cuba. Negotiations to establish the FTAA ended in failure, however, with all parties unable to reach an agreement by the 2005 deadline they had set for themselves.
The Organisation of African Unity was an intergovernmental organization established on 25 May 1963 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, with 32 signatory governments. One of the main heads for OAU's establishment was Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana. It was disbanded on 9 July 2002 by its last chairman, South African President Thabo Mbeki, and replaced by the African Union (AU). Some of the key aims of the OAU were to encourage political and economic integration among member states, and to eradicate colonialism and neo-colonialism from the African continent.
The Canadian–American Reciprocity Treaty of 1854, also known as the Elgin–Marcy Treaty, was a treaty between the United Kingdom and the United States that applied to British North America, including the Province of Canada, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland Colony. The treaty covered raw materials; in effect from 1854 to 1866, it represented a move toward free trade and was opposed by protectionist elements in the United States.
The National Policy was a Canadian economic program introduced by John A. Macdonald's Conservative Party in 1876. After Macdonald led the Conservatives to victory in the 1878 Canadian federal election, he began implementing his policy in 1879. The protective policy had shown positive responses in the economy with new industries flourishing Canada's economy in the 1880s. John A. Macdonald combined three elements as a strategy for the post-Confederation economy. First, by calling for high tariffs on imported manufactured items to protect the manufacturing industry. Second, by calling for a massive expansion of physical infrastructure, such as roads and railroads. Finally, enabled and supported by the former two, by promoting population growth, particularly in western Canada. The building of the Canadian Pacific Railway, and the fostering of immigration to Western Canada. Macdonald campaigned on the policy in the 1878 election, and defeated the Liberal Party, which supported free trade. It lasted from 1879 until sometime in the early 1950s.
Atlanticism, also known as Transatlanticism, is the ideological belief in support of closer relationships between the peoples and governments in Northern America and in Europe on political, economic, and defense issues for the purpose of maintaining the security and prosperity of the participating countries and protect liberal democracy and the progressive values of an open society that unite them under multiculturalism. The term derives from the North Atlantic Ocean, which is bordered by North America and Europe.
A subregion is a part of a larger region or continent and is usually based on location. Cardinal directions, such as south are commonly used to define a subregion.
Pan-Africanism is a worldwide movement that aims to encourage and strengthen bonds of solidarity between all indigenous and diasporas of African ancestry. Based on a common goal dating back to the Atlantic slave trade, the movement extends beyond continental Africans with a substantial support base among the African diaspora in the Americas and Europe.
Reciprocity, in 19th- and early 20th-century Canadian politics, meant free trade, the removal of protective tariffs on all natural resources between Canada and the United States. Reciprocity and free trade have been emotional issues in Canadian history, as they pitted two conflicting impulses: the desire for beneficial economic ties with the United States and the fear of closer economic ties leading to American domination and even annexation.
Pan-Americanism is a movement that seeks to create, encourage, and organize relationships, an association, and cooperation among the states of the Americas, through diplomatic, political, economic, and social means.
Transatlantic relations refer to the historic, cultural, political, economic and social relations between countries on both side of the Atlantic Ocean. Sometimes it specifically means relationships between the Anglophone North American countries, and particular European countries or organizations, although other meanings are possible.
A continental union is a regional organization which facilitates pan-continental integration. Continental unions vary from collaborative intergovernmental organizations, to supranational politico-economic unions. Continental unions are a relatively new type of political entity in the history of human government. Throughout most of human history, political organization has been at the local level and in more recent centuries, the sub-regional ("regional")/sub-continental level ; however, starting with the advent of better transportation, weapons and communication there was for the first time the ability for a union of member states to organize at the continental level. After the devastation of the First and Second World Wars in the middle of the twentieth century, Europe began to slowly integrate with the founding of the "European Community", which became a political union covering much of the European continent.
The following is an alphabetical list of countries in the United Nations geoscheme for the Americas grouped by subregion and intermediate region. The continent of North America comprises the intermediate regions of the Caribbean, Central America, and Northern America.
The Monroe Doctrine is a United States foreign policy position that opposes European colonialism in the Western Hemisphere. It holds that any intervention in the political affairs of the Americas by foreign powers is a potentially hostile act against the United States. The doctrine was central to American grand strategy in the 20th century.
The Great Rapprochement was the convergence of diplomatic, political, military, and economic objectives of the United States and the British Empire from 1895 to 1915, the two decades before American entry into World War I.
The integration of Latin America has a history going back to Spanish American and Brazilian independence, when there was discussion of creating a regional state or confederation of Latin American nations to protect the area's newly won autonomy. After several projects failed, the issue was not taken up again until the late 19th century, but now centered on the issue of international trade and with a sense of pan-Americanism, owing to the United States of America taking a leading role in the project. The idea of granting these organizations a primarily political purpose did not become prominent again until the post-World War II period, which saw both the start of the Cold War and a climate of international cooperation that led to the creation of institutions such as the United Nations. It would not be until the mid-20th century that uniquely Latin American organizations were created.
Commonwealth free trade is the process or proposal of removing barriers of trade between member states of the Commonwealth of Nations. The preferential trade regime within the British Empire continued in some form amongst Commonwealth nations under the Imperial Preference system, until that system was dismantled after World War II due to changes in geopolitics and the pattern of global trade, and the United Kingdom's entry into the European Economic Community. The idea of promoting renewed inter-Commonwealth trade emerged in the late 20th century as a response to the evolution of the global economy. At one extreme, proposals have been raised for the creation of a multilateral free trade area comprising all member states of the Commonwealth of Nations.
The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is a free trade area encompassing most of Africa. It was established in 2018 by the African Continental Free Trade Agreement, which has 43 parties and another 11 signatories, making it the largest free-trade area by number of member states, after the World Trade Organization, and the largest in population and geographic size, spanning 1.3 billion people across the world's second largest continent.