Post-Cold War regional economic integration succeeds mainly among culturally homogeneous states.

Evidence

The end of the Cold War stimulated efforts to create new and to revive old regional economic organizations. The success of these efforts has depended overwhelmingly on the cultural homogeneity of the states involved. Shimon Peres’ 1994 plan for a Middle East common market is likely to remain a “desert mirage” for some while to come: “The Arab world,” one Arab official commented, “is not in need of an institution or a development bank in which Israel participates.” The Association of Caribbean States, created in 1994 to link CARICOM to Haiti and the Spanish-speaking countries of the region, shows little signs of overcoming the linguistic and cultural differences of its diverse membership and the insularity of the former British colonies and their overwhelming orientation toward the United States. Efforts involving more culturally homogeneous organizations, on the other hand, were making progress. — Samuel P. Huntington, The Clash of Civilizations and the…, 364

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the broader Huntington thesis from Chapters 1-5, and to trade-blocs literature on the European Union’s cultural precondition.