East Asia In Transition Toward A New Regional Order

"Has uniformly good essays on economic and political change, the policies of the great and local powers, and the prospects for building a new regional order". -- Foreign Affairs

This text examines the implications of two strategic and economic transformations in the East Asia region: the demise of the Soviet Union; and the emergence of new East Asian economic powers that have transformed regional economic relations.

This book discusses the impact of China's rise on regional order at three levels: Sino-US relations, East Asia’s contested sub regions and regional institutions. Sino-US relations provide a framework to examine macro-regional relations. In East Asia’s contested sub regions-Northeast Asia, Southeast Asia, and the eastern Indian Ocean region—the author explores the crucial role regional powers and local states play in maintaining effective governance and stability. The author shows how regional institutions attempt to develop cooperation and shared norms that work toward regional community. The inclusion of leading experts from China, the US, South Korea, Japan, Vietnam, Singapore, and India gives this collection a unique viewpoint, and reveals how China's rise looks from inside and outside China, as well as inside and outside the region.

East Asia is normally identified as a group of countries lying along the western edge of the Pacific Ocean, but in recent years scholars have begun thinking about a new East Asia that is a community rather than a set of sovereign states. This regional community is a theoretical notion variously defined on the basis of economic or political relations, philosophical orientations, language or other criteria, with each standard producing a different set of boundaries. This book looks at the new East Asia from a Northeast Asian perspective, considering it both as a theoretical construct and a practical reality.The authors are Asian Studies specialists, mainly from Japan but with contributions from Korea and the United States, and they consider the trade and economic interaction, diplomacy, and security arrangements of East Asia. Prepared as part of a five-year research program conducted by Waseda University's 21st Century Center of Excellence for the Creation of Contemporary Asian Studies, the essays are published here in English for the first time

"Has uniformly good essays on economic and political change, the policies of the great and local powers, and the prospects for building a new regional order". -- Foreign Affairs

Now in a fully revised and updated edition, this cogent book provides an overview of the historical context and enduring patterns of U.S. relations with Asia. Noted scholar Robert G. Sutter offers a balanced analysis of post–Cold War dynamics in Asia, which involve interrelated questions of security, economics, national identity, and regional institution building. He demonstrates how these critical concerns manifest a complex mix of realist, liberal, and constructivist tendencies that define the regional order. He describes how the United States has responded to Asia’s growing strength and importance while at the same time trying to maintain its leading position as an Asian power despite China’s rising influence. Considering the most important transition in American policy toward Asia since the end of the Cold War, Sutter assesses the growing U.S.-China rivalry that now dominates both regional dynamics in the Asia-Pacific and U.S. policy in the region.

Proceedings from the conference "China and Asia: Towards a New Regional Order," convened in December 2003 at The George Washington University"--Acknowledgments.

The aim of the book is to provide readers with an understanding of the important and emerging political, economic and social trends and challenges in East Asia in the coming years.There is urgency to conduct such a review of the state of East Asian affairs as the international and regional environments seemed to be headed towards greater uncertainty. At the international level, the European Union (EU) continues to grapple with its debt crisis with no clear resolution in sight. On the other side of the Atlantic, the US is gearing up for its presidential and congressional elections that will take place towards the end of 2012. The outcome of these elections would have implications for America's relations with countries in East Asia, particularly China. Already, in the run-up to these elections, potential candidates have whipped up anti-China sentiments or even called for tough anti-China measures to appeal their respective constituencies.More significantly, with the relative decline of the US and EU, increasing doubts have been raised concerning the values and beliefs that have undergird the US and individual European countries' political system and institutions since World War Two. China's current stellar economic growth in the midst of the sputtering performance of the US and the EU economies have lent increasing legitimacy to the attractiveness of China's model that combines strong authoritarian leadership with the vibrancy of a market economy. Managing a rising China and a declining US and the EU will have an impact, whether big or small, on the countries in Asia.Also, in East Asia, a number of countries have either undergone or are going to undergo major elections that have elected or will elect a new leadership to take over the helm, with possible implications for policy adjustments or possibly even policy changes in these countries. China is gearing up for its crucial leadership transition at the 18th Party Congress, while Taiwan has held its presidential election; Hong Kong has elected its Chief Executive and will hold the Legislative Council elections, while the two “Koreas” will be adjusting to the post-Kim Jong-il uncertainty. Japan, too is still trying to recover from the triple disasters (tsunami, earthquakes and the radioactivity fallout) with the current Noda administration still trying to figure a way out to revitalize the Japanese economy.