A Global Perspective on Pan Movements: Regional Anomalies or Abnormal Regions?

Abstract

Across the twentieth century, regional pan-movements bloomed and faded alongside nation states and empires as political projects. Each pan-movement had a specific set of political ideologies, identities and visions of political organisation. Yet, by the end of the century, most of these movements had disappeared. This chapter sets to investigate the lasting effects of two of the largest global pan movements, Pan-Asianism and Pan-Africanism and situates them in the context of a global perspective on regionalism in IR. It is argued that pan-movements have enhanced the agency of actors at specific moments, culminating in a largely unrecognised influence on the shape and form of global order, with lasting impacts until today.