Political Economy of East Asian Regional Integration and Cooperation

In the last decade, East Asia has engaged in constructing numerous mechanisms to enhance regional cooperation in the areas of trade and finance. However' the region's economic architecture exhibits certain idiosyncrasies such as an eclectic institutional structure and a limited level of commitment shown by its members. These idiosyncrasies seem to prevent regional cooperation from becoming deeper and more coherent. This paper focuses on the political factors that have thus far shaped the institutional form of East Asian regional trade and financial cooperation' particularly in the three essential aspects of regionalism derived from the theories of regional institution building. The first aspect is the level at which governments are willing to compromise sovereignty and political autonomy for the sake of regional cooperation. The second is the progress in creating mechanisms through which the “losers” and the “weak” within a country or region can be compensated. The third is the clear definition of which members can benefit from such mechanisms. These three elements are useful in furthering regional cooperation and institution building by removing resistance and obstacles that work against functional spillovers. The paper argues that East Asia's economic institutions established through the cooperation efforts of the last ten years exhibit different qualities from those that have emerged in Europe' and thus fall far short of overcoming unexpected political tensions in the region. These deficiencies' however' contrast in two important fields of regional integration. In finance' the clearly defined member governments have difficulty compromising their respective national macroeconomic policy autonomy' while in the field of regional trade cooperation' the challenge is in redistributing the economic gains to those who stand to lose during the process of integration' or to the countries that have a long distance to catch up within a relatively well-defined group.east asian regional integration; asia regional trade cooperation; asia institutional regional cooperation

Shrimp amongst Whales? Assessing South Korea’s Regional-power Status

Recent developments in South Korea’s foreign and security policies as well as major structural adjustments in the military alliance between the United States and South Korea indicate a new self-understanding on the part of South Korea in terms of playing a more assertive role in regional and even global affairs. Alongside its involvement in the so-called Six-Party Talks—a multinational framework to disarm a nuclear North Korea—South Korea’s civil-military engagement in Afghanistan, Iraq and Lebanon demonstrates that the government’s foreign policy posture is not only focused on Northeast Asian affairs but is also intended to engage in other international security hot spots. However, although it has considerable material resources and capabilities—in neorealist terms constituting the power base of a state actor—South Korea is widely seen as a minor player in world politics. By means of a specific set of indicators—pretension, endowment, influence, recognition—this paper seeks to answer the question of whether South Korea is a regional power. The methodological approach used to evaluate its position will be based on analytical frameworks and typologies compiled from the literature on regional powers. Following the introduction of this approach, different concepts of the term regional power and the selection of the methodological instruments are presented. The subsequent section analyzes the selected set of indicators with regard to South Korea’s potential status as a regional power. The concluding chapter evaluates the findings and raises further questions related to the regional-power concept.regional power, South Korea, foreign and security policy, intersubjective un-derstanding

Challenges and opportunities of the China – Gulf Cooperation Council Free Trade Agreement

The free trade agreement between China and the Gulf Cooperation Council (“the GCC”) currently under negotiation is due to become China’s first comprehensive trade and investment agreement with a supranational customs union. The article explores the challenges and opportunities of the proposed China-GCC Free Trade Agreement. It proposes tailor-made recommendations according to the specific interests of both parties

Beyond rivalry?: Sino-Japanese relations and the potential for a ‘security regime’ in Northeast Asia

This thesis investigates Sino-Japanese relations and the post-Cold War security order in Northeast Asia. In particular, it asks whether a ‘security regime’ now exists in the region. Security analysis of Northeast Asia has often focussed upon the likely effects of changes in material power. This has led to predictions of a ‘Back to the future’ scenario of rivalry and possible war. While acknowledging the value of this approach, I question whether it is sufficient; other approaches, notably an investigation of normative changes, are required. In considering both material and non-material factors, I follow the precepts of RSCT – which view RSCs as essentially social constructions. Thus, I employ RSCT’s eclectic posture, exploring three distinctive approaches to the possibility of structural change – Waltz and neorealism, Wendt and social constructivism, and Buzan and the English school. Thus, while not ignoring the impact of shifts in the balance of power on security practices, I also investigate ideational variables – that is the kinds of values, norms and institutions that are shared by the members of the East Asian RSC. I go on to ask why they are shared, how their identities and interests evolve over time and how these changes influence securitisation and desecuritisation practices. By examining these variables through societal, economic and military-political sectors, and locating them at domestic, regional, interregional and global levels, I conclude that, together with Southeast Asia, Northeast Asia has formed a single ‘East Asian security regime’. This conclusion is based upon my interpretation of domestic normative constructions in Japan and in China; the growing regional identity/society in East Asia (especially after the Asian financial crisis); and the increased willingness and ability of regional actors to deal with security challenges. But challenges remain, with recurrent tensions and crises as well as continuing historical mistrust. I believe that, as yet, ideational factors, the shared norms and institutions in the East Asian RSC, are still associated with acceptance of a pluralist Westphalian international society, and these are shared largely instrumentally rather than by genuine belief. Thus, despite enthusiasm for community building, progress has been limited in collective identity formation; and balancing behaviour is still common. This means that, while East Asia has reached at least the lower or middle stages of a ‘security regime’, it is still far away from becoming a ‘security community’

China - Japan - South Korea: a tense ménage à trois

China, Japan and South Korea are the largest economies in East Asia and, as such, play a decisive role in the region's prosperity and security. Their relations with each other, however, are increasingly marked by tensions in the absence of a regional organisation or institution playing a stabilising role. This study considers a constellation that has so far received little attention, namely the cooperation between these three states, which began in the late 1990s and has since established itself as an independent format. The study's central question is whether this trilateral cooperation can bring forth a new model of interaction in Northeast Asia, or whether it only confirms and reproduces existing (and predominantly negative) trends. The research has two focal points: it analyses developments within the three sets of bilateral relations, and provides a systematic overview of the extent of this trilateral cooperation to date. It shows that tensions within the Northeast-Asian triangle are caused not only by historic, territorial and maritime conflict, but also by the increasing competition between the US and China for primacy in the Asia-Pacific. To date trilateral cooperation between Beijing, Tokyo and Seoul therefore has a mixed but overall modest balance sheet, especially in security policy. The format is nevertheless significant in that it provides an institutional framework for exchanging views and keeps open channels of communication below "high politics", even in times of heightened bilateral tensions. (author's abstract

Asian Yearbook of International Law, Volume 8 (1998-1999)

The Asian Yearbook of International Law is a major refereed publication dedicated to international law issues as seen primarily from an Asian perspective. Readership: Academics and practitioners who deal with international public law in Asia will appreciate this unique, complete resource. The Asian Yearbook of International Law provides insight into Asian views and practices, especially for non-Asian readers, and also promotes the dissemination of knowledge of international law in Asia

Trade wars & currency conflict: China, Japan, and South Korea's responses to U.S. protectionism, 1971-2013

What political and economic factors have led Northeast Asian nations to react to U.S.-initiated trade and currency disputes differently? This dissertation analyzes the causes of the similarities and the divergence among the three countries in their trade and currency conflicts with the United States from 1971 to 2013. It argues that the divergence in the three countries' policy reactions to U.S. protectionist pressures can be best explained by differences in the political systems and bureaucratic decision-making structures of foreign economic policy and monetary policy. My research design is a small-n comparative research project, utilizing process tracing as well as regression analysis. It is based on two years of on-site fieldwork on the government decision-making systems of China, Japan, and South Korea. The dissertation develops in-depth case studies of each country's bilateral trade conflicts with the United States, as identified by disputes involving the United States International Trade Commission, the United States Department of Commerce, the United States Trade Representative, and the World Trade Organization, as well as bilateral negotiations on currency appreciation carried out at the ministerial level. It also demonstrates causal linkages between trade and currency disputes, two related issues that are not addressed together in most of the international political economy literature

Korea's Economy 2012

노트 : A publication of the Korea Economic Institute and the Korea Institute for International Economic Polic