Regional Institutions, Geopolitics and Economics in the Asia-Pacific

2017 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Asia Pacific ◽  
Regional Institutions

The Awkwardness of Australian Engagement with Asia: The Dilemmas of Australian Idea of Regionalism

2011 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 267-285 ◽  
Author(s):  
BAOGANG HE
Keyword(s):  
Regional Integration ◽  
Critical Analysis ◽  
Power Relations ◽  
Asia Pacific ◽  
Full Member ◽  
Regional Institutions ◽  
International Power ◽  
Asian Context ◽  
High Level ◽  
Pacific Community

AbstractAustralia has experienced difficulties engaging with Asia-Pacific regional integration. Despite Australian attempts to punch above its weight in regional forums and to be a regional leader, it is still not regarded as a full member or as quite fitting into the region. It is an ‘awkward partner’ in the Asian context, and has experienced the ‘liminality’ of being neither here nor there. The former Rudd government's proposal for an ‘Asia Pacific Community’ (APC) by the year 2020 was a substantive initiative in Australia's ongoing engagement with Asia. It has, however, attracted a high level of criticism both at home and abroad. The main critical analysis of the proposal has focused on institutional building or architecture, or its relationship with existing regional institutions, but overlooks a host of often fraught questions about culture, norms, identities, and international power relations. The APC concept needs to be scrutinized in terms of these questions with a critical eye. This paper examines the cultural, cognitive, and normative dimensions of Rudd's proposal. It analyses four dilemmas or awkward problems that the APC faces.

Regional Organizations

2019 ◽  
pp. 36-67
Author(s):  
Tan Hsien-Li
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
International Organizations ◽  
Asia Pacific ◽  
Regional Organizations ◽  
Member States ◽  
Regional Institutions ◽  
History Of ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The Relationship

This chapter examines the relationship that Asia-Pacific regional and sub-regional organizations have with international law, looking at seven international organizations that span the region. It is commonly believed that the member states of Asia-Pacific regional organizations prefer less formalized institutions and fewer binding commitments. Conventional reasons for this include their history of colonialism, less legalistic and formalized cultures, and a preference for stricter conceptions of sovereignty. As such, their organizations are often perceived as less effective. However, the effectiveness of Asia-Pacific regional institutions should not be judged by one uniform standard. Instead they should be judged on their own definition of effectiveness. There should be a broader understanding that Asia-Pacific states consciously use and participate in their regional organizations differently than in other regions, and they may prefer less institutionalized models as these serve their purposes better and can still be successful.

The US Rebalance towards the Asia-Pacific: Really Realist?

2016 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 291-306 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nguyen Thi Thuy Hang
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Asia Pacific ◽  
Policy Agenda ◽  
Obama Administration ◽  
Regional Institutions ◽  
The Third ◽  
Multilateral Institutions ◽  
The Us ◽  
Alliance Building ◽  
Realist Model

The Obama administration perceives the Asia-Pacific as a vital and dynamic region and thus prioritized it in its foreign policy agenda. Some scholars have suggested that the Obama administration’s rebalance towards Asia has taken a realist approach to engagement with the Asia-Pacific while others suggested that it deviated significantly from realism. This article seeks to examine more closely the question of the realist nature of the US rebalance policy towards the Asia-Pacific. It begins with a discussion of views of the Obama administration’s rebalance towards the Asia-Pacific before giving an overview of realism. Then, it seeks to establish a realist model of foreign policy and examine the Obama administration’s rebalance towards the Asia-Pacific against that model. It finds that the Obama administration has high scores on two of the indicators of realism—the emphasis on military capabilities and the emphasis on alliance-building—but has lower scores on the third and the fourth—a low regard for multilateral institutions, and a low regard for values. The Obama administration has actively engaged with regional institutions and has strongly supported the spread of democracy and human dignity all over the Asia-Pacific. Hence, the Obama administration’s rebalance towards the Asia-Pacific is a realist foreign policy with certain modifications.

The New Wave of Regionalism

1999 ◽  
Vol 53 (3) ◽  
pp. 589-627 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edward D. Mansfield ◽  
Helen V. Milner
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Global Economy ◽  
Trade Agreement ◽  
Asia Pacific ◽  
New Wave ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Economic Relations ◽  
Regional Institutions ◽  
The North ◽  
Multilateral System

Economic regionalism appears to be growing rapidly. Why this has occurred and what bearing it will have on the global economy are issues that have generated considerable interest and disagreement. Some observers fear that regional economic institutions—such as the European Union (EU), the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), Mercosur, and the organization of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)—will erode the multilateral system that has guided economic relations since the end of World War II, promoting protectionism and conflict. Others argue that regional institutions will foster economic openness and bolster the multilateral system. This debate has stimulated a large and influential body of research by economists on regionalism's welfare implications.

Legalization as Strategy: The Asia-Pacific Case

2000 ◽  
Vol 54 (3) ◽  
pp. 549-571 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miles Kahler
Keyword(s):  
Dispute Settlement ◽  
Institutional Design ◽  
Third Party ◽  
Asia Pacific ◽  
Institution Building ◽  
Dispute Settlement Mechanism ◽  
Regional Institutions ◽  
Clear Cut ◽  
Global Institutions ◽  
Third Party Dispute Resolution

The Asia-Pacific region offers an example of low legalization of regional institutions and perhaps an explicit aversion to legalization. An examination of three key regional institutions—ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations), APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation), and the ARF (ASEAN Regional Forum)—confirms a regional process of institution building without legalization. Recent developments in these institutions permit some discrimination among competing explanations for low legalization. On the one hand, ASEAN has embraced a legalized dispute-settlement mechanism; Asian governments have also employed legalized global institutions. On the other hand, the ARF and APEC continue to resist clear-cut legal obligations and third-party dispute resolution. This pattern suggests that legalization is best viewed as driven by the demands of economic integration and as a strategic response by governments in particular institutional settings. These explanations undermine alternatives based on domestic legal culture and uniformly high sovereignty costs. The Asian economic crisis has reopened a debate over regional institutions, which may fix on legalization as part of a new regional institutional design.

Japan and Peaceful Change in the International System The Persistent Peace Nation

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas U. Berger
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Prime Minister ◽  
International System ◽  
The United States ◽  
Asia Pacific ◽  
Security Threats ◽  
Pacific Region ◽  
Asia Pacific Region ◽  
Regional Institutions ◽  
The Government

Since 1945 Japan has espoused the principles of peace and peaceful change in the international system. At the same time, it has built a powerful military and has been a key ally for the United States in the Asia-Pacific region. This has opened it up to the charge of being hypocritical. In recent years this charge has gained credence as the government of Prime Minister Abe Shinzō has sought to systematically dismantle many of the institutions on which the notion of Japan as a “peace nation” is founded. What is frequently forgotten is the extent to which the notion of the Japanese peace nation has been contested from the beginning. Japan today remains strongly committed to the principles of peace and peaceful change, and while it has pragmatically sought to adjust its military policies to reflect the increased security threats it faces in the region, it has also expanded its commitment to building regional institutions and relying on diplomacy and trade, rather than military might, as a tool for resolving foreign policy differences.

Australia, China, and the U.S. in an Era of Interdependence

Asian Survey ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 54 (3) ◽  
pp. 565-583
Author(s):  
Mark Beeson ◽  
Yong Wang
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Asia Pacific ◽  
Pacific Region ◽  
Asia Pacific Region ◽  
Regional Institutions ◽  
Pivot To Asia ◽  
The U.S

Tensions in the Asia-Pacific region are rising as a consequence of the U.S. “pivot” to Asia and China’s increasingly assertive foreign policy. Other states in the region must try to reconcile potentially conflicting economic and strategic imperatives as a consequence. Australia illustrates these dilemmas. We ask what role regional institutions can play.

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