Deepening the Social Dimensions of Regional Integration: An Overview of Recent Trends and Future Challenges in Light of the Recommendations of the Report of the World Commission on the Social Dimension of Globalisation

The report ‘A Fair Globalisation: Creating Opportunities for All’ of the World Commission on the Social Dimension of Globalisation claims that regional integration can contribute to a more equitable pattern of globalisation, but only if regional integration has a strong social dimension. According to the Commission, regional arrangements can achieve this by empowering people and countries to better manage the global economic forces, by helping to build capabilities needed to take advantage of global opportunities, and by improving the conditions under which people connect to the global economy (WCSDG, 2004:71).