Regulatory regionalism and anti-money-laundering governance in Asia

With the intensification of the Financial Action Task Force's (FATF's) worldwide campaign to promote anti-money-laundering regulation since the late 1990s, all Asian states except North Korea have signed up to its rules and have established a regional institution—the Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering—to promote and oversee the implementation of FATF's 40 Recommendations in the region. This article analyses the FATF regime, making two key claims. First, anti-money-laundering governance in Asia reflects a broader shift to regulatory regionalism, particularly in economic matters, in that its implementation and functioning depend upon the rescaling of ostensibly domestic agencies to function within a regional governance regime. Second, although this form of regulatory regionalism is established in order to bypass the perceived constraints of national sovereignty and political will, it nevertheless inevitably becomes entangled within the socio-political conflicts that shape the exercise of state power more broadly. Consequently, understanding the outcomes of regulatory regionalism involves identifying how these conflicts shape how far and in what manner global regulations are adopted and implemented within specific territories. This argument is demonstrated by a case study of Myanmar

The evolution of ASEAN

grantor: University of TorontoThis dissertation utilizes four theories of international institutions to examine the creation, maintenance and transformation of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). The four theories are: neoliberal institutionalism, neorealism, constructivism, and the international society approach of the British School of international relations. Each of these theories has distinct explanations of what international institutions are, and how and why they operate in the international system. This dissertation examines the explanations that each of these theories offers for ASEAN's evolution. It concludes that none of the theories adequately explains ASEAN's development. However, the international society approach offers the strongest explanation of ASEAN's creation and maintenance during the Cold War. While this approach cannot explain ASEAN's post-Cold War transformation, it does offer strong indications as to the nature of the organization's continuing durability. Neoliberal institutionalism portrays institutions as functional organs that further the efficient pursuit of state interests. Neorealism portrays institutions as tools that are only useful if they enhance the material security of states. Constructivism argues that institutions are fundamentally important to states' identities. The durability of a regime is related to the role it plays in helping states to define themselves. This dissertation concludes that none of these theories captures the reality of ASEAN's evolution. ASEAN clearly is not and never was strictly a functional institution; likewise, it has only indirectly furthered the material security of its member states. It is not critical to the identities of its members, who remain largely narrowly self-interested actors. The International Society approach best explains ASEAN's evolution because it portrays states as self-interested actors which exist within the bounds of a society. ASEAN's creation and maintenance are best explained as part of its member states' attempts to influence the normative structures of international interaction in the region. Similarly, ASEAN's post-Cold War transformation is best understood as reflecting a belief that the rules of interstate interaction can be shaped by more than material considerations of power. ASEAN is an example of a group of relatively weak states which believe that they can exercise significant political power through their appeal to common international norms and rules.Ph.D

Towards Asian regional functional futures : bringing Mitrany back in?

In the early years of the twenty-first century, Asian regionalism is at a crossroads. While the region is home to a broad array of multilateral organisations, the record of these bodies in fostering effective and legitimate cooperation has been decidedly weak. Drawing on insights from the work of David Mitrany on international cooperation, this article contends that the key problem facing Asian regionalism is a predilection for ‘top-down’ rather than ‘bottom-up’ regionalism strategies. These top-down strategies have involved efforts to find a single institutional design for regional cooperation (similar to the experience of Europe), which has been hindered by geopolitical rivalries and a lack of shared consensus around what constitutes the ‘Asian region’. By considering the contours of interstate competition in Asia, the track record of its existing regionalism efforts and insights from comparative regional studies, it is instead argued that Asia's future is one of regions rather than a single region. As Mitrany suggests, the unique geopolitical context in Asia means that functionally discrete and variegated strategies are likely to provide a more effective basis for regional cooperation. Indeed, trends towards such a functional approach to regionalism are already becoming evident in Asia today