Normative Power ASEAN? Globalisation of Asian Values and Its Limits

The idea of normative power Europe, pioneered by Ian J. Manners, is usually applied to the European Union’s foreign policy. It states that the EU promotes one’s norms and values among adjacent states, determining what is “normal” in international relations. This paper, along with the burgeoning literature that looks for normative power beyond Europe, argues that the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is another regional grouping that attempts to disseminate its norms and values worldwide, thus transforming itself into a nascent “normative power.” Structure-wise, this paper proceeds as follows. First, I will briefly overview the concept of Ian Manner’s normative power and its applicability to Europe and Asia. Second, I will determine the Asian values that may be the basis for ASEAN’s normative stance in the world. My comparison of ASEAN and the EU’s values are structured along with several topical issues: the role of a state in people’s quotidian life and the question of human rights promotion. I exemplify the latter with the Myanmar crisis that evoked harsh criticism of the international community. I conclude that the transformation of ASEAN into a “normative power” is rather dubious since there are limits in promoting the Asian norms and values. In ASEAN, there is a group of developing countries that reject Western universalism and struggle to find their own way in world politics.

Modi's Strategic Concerns and China's Belt & Road Imitative (BRI): A Realist Perspective

This article provides a conceptual and theoretical framework to analyze motivations of China in BRI, which is conceived as a project of the 21st century for the revival of erstwhile Asian values, this paper is not a critique on BRI, but it securitizes India's concern whose policymakers consider that it can harm the strategic interest of India. This paper investigates why Indian policymakers have demonstrated reluctance to join BRI. Moreover, the study also explores the major reasons behind India's belligerent policy against BRI because they conceive it as a danger for their national sovereignty. Besides, this research has applied realist theory as an investigative tool to prove Indian concerns. As a whole, the paper analyses that how far the rivalry between both states can harm regional peace if they fail to find any suitable solution considering the BRI project.

Political Culture of East Asia

East Asia has been defined as a cultural sphere characterized by the lasting influence of Confucianism on its political and socioeconomic lives. Academic interest in the political culture of East Asia has been mainly shaped by the great diversity in this region’s economic and political landscapes. The systematic differences between Confucianism and its Western philosophical counterparts in prescribing how to organize societies and manage state–society relationships are central to understanding the uniqueness of this region’s political culture. The features of East Asian political culture cast some significant influence over the dynamics of political practice and development in the region, including but not limited to how East Asians assess their political regimes, conceptualize democracy, and participate in politics. Increasing access to high-quality regional barometer surveys, as well as expanding global survey projects, has empowered students of comparative politics to more effectively examine the political culture of East Asia and test the so-called “Asian values thesis” in a much broader context. Yet, among academics, there is a lack of agreement on what constitutes East Asia. This, along with discrepancies between empirical instruments and corresponding theoretical constructs and insufficient research designs tailored to various versions of the “Asian values thesis,” has prevented more fruitful dialogues among scholars. Considering such issues in future research could contribute to more effective accumulation of knowledge and yield a more nuanced and dynamic understanding of the political culture of East Asia.

Ordination of Selected Traditional Japanese Gardens, Traditional Chinese Gardens, and Modern Chinese Gardens

Designers and academics are interested in the characteristics, differences, and similarities between built environments such as garden types. This investigation aims to examine the ordination of traditional Japanese gardens in Kyoto, the classical Chinese gardens in Suzhou and the modern Chinese gardens in Xiamen. A hundred and thirty-four variables were selected for the ordination. According to a Principal Component Analysis (PCA) ordination, the first three principal components covered 70.77 percent of the sample variance: the first principal component (traditional Asian values to non-Asian dimension) and second principal component (a complexity to simplicity dimension) divides the gardens into three identifiable groups; the first and the third principal component (a hardscape to softscape dimension) indicates the similarities of traditional Japanese gardens and classical Chinese gardens; the second and third principal component implies the similarities of traditional Japanese gardens and modern Chinese gardens.

“Asian Values” in Different Forms: A Comparative Examination of How Singapore, Indonesia and Myanmar Address Insults to Religion

Insults to religion have the potential to stoke tensions and result in physical violence. To protect religious sensitivities, speech which insults religion may be criminalised, even in countries where freedom of speech is enshrined as a constitutional right. The purpose of this article is to look at the role played by the state in dealing with speech which insults religion, through an examination of three Southeast Asian case studies. This article attempts to provide a comparison of the constitutional provisions and specific legislation relating to the insulting of religion in the three countries, as well as consider how the laws have worked in practice. It finds that while the ‘law on the books’ across the three countries may have broad similarities in the way they are drafted, they differ vastly in the ways they are applied and enforced, due to differences in the state-religion relationship, religious demographics and the influence of religious nationalism. At the same time, despite the social, political and cultural heterogeneity of the three countries, the prioritisation of communitarian interests in the three countries over the freedom of speech suggests the continued salience of “Asian values” in Southeast Asia.

India–China ‘Connectedness’

Native-language source materials shed much light on the nature of modern subaltern perception of India–China ‘connectedness’. They have, however, remained scantily used. In this context, this chapter provides an overview of ‘native voices’ available in Hindi and other languages in burgeoning local print media in the late nineteenth- to mid-twentieth-century north India. Published in popular books, journals, and newspapers, they present an alternative discourse and open up new vista in our comprehension of areas of India–China interactions. Examples of this may be seen in books in Hindi on China by Thakur Gadadhar Singh and Dr Mahendulal Garg, or in editorials and independent commentaries on various events in China by Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya, Rabindranath Tagore, Benoy Kumar Sarkar, and many other contemporary native intellectuals. Demonstrating yearnings for unity and harmony, these writings provide context to explore various vicissitudes of ‘connectedness’ as well as sources to the contemporary invocations of common ideas of ‘Asian values’ and pan-Asianism.