East Asian Multilateralism

While the Iraq war and Middle East conflicts command the attention of the United States and most of the rest of the developed world, fundamental changes are occurring in East Asia. North Korea has tested nuclear weapons, even as it and South Korea have effectively entered a period of tepid détente; relations among China, Japan, and South Korea are a complex mixture of conflict and cooperation; and Japan is developing more forthright security policies, even as it deepens ties with the United States. Together, these developments pose vital questions for world stability and security. In East Asian Multilateralism, prominent international foreign affairs scholars examine the range of implications of shifting alignments in East Asia. The first part delves into the intraregional dynamics, and the second assesses current economic conditions and policies within individual East Asian states. The third section examines the challenge of regional cooperation from the perspectives of local players, while the fourth analyzes the implications for foreign policy in the United States and in Asia. This thorough review and assessment charts the preconditions and prospects for deeper multilateralism, poses tough questions about America's security and national interests in the region, and carries a plea for more serious institution-building in the North Pacific, using the ongoing six-party process in talks on North Korea as a point of departure.

Traditionally, stability in Asia has relied on America's bilateral alliances with Japan, Australia, and the Republic of Korea. Yet in recent years, emergent and more active multilateral forums--such as the Six-Party Talks on North Korea and the East Asia Summit--have taken precedence, engendering both cooperation and competition while reflecting the local concerns of the region. Some are concerned that this process is moving toward less-inclusive, bloc-based "talking shops" and that the future direction and success of these arrangements, along with their implications for global and regional security and prosperity, remain unclear. The fifteen contributors to this volume, all leading scholars in the field, provide national perspectives on regional institutional architecture and their functional challenges. They illuminate areas of cooperation that will move the region toward substantive collaboration, convergence of norms, and strengthened domestic institutions. They also highlight the degree to which institution building in Asia--a region composed of liberal democracies, authoritarian regimes, and anachronistic dictatorships--has become an arena for competition among major powers and conflicting norms, and assess the future shape of Asian security architecture.

Existing theories of cooperation assume a stable geo-political order, led by countries with a shared conception of the modalities of cooperation. These assumptions are no longer justified. Effective Multilateralism makes the case for a new approach to explaining international cooperation through the lens of East Asian.

These essays, written between 1990 and 2000, cover the most significant phase of multilateral institution-building in the Asia Pacific region. They deal with: the emergence of regionalism in Southeast Asia; ASEAN's transition to the post-Cold War era; the role of the ASEAN Regional Forum; the engagement of China; the changing relationship between sovereignty and regionalism; and prospects for the regional institutions such as ASEAN, APEC and the ARF after the Asian economic crisis. The essays address the most challenging issues of regional order and articulate an institutionalist understanding of international relations in the region. This updated second edition includes four new chapters and two revised chapters.

"The central theme of this book is the utility of bilateralism and multilateralism in Southeast Asia international relations. The intention was to examine a sufficient number of empirical cases in the Southeast Asian region since the mid-1970's so as to establish a pattern of interactions informing a wider audience of interactions unique to the region. Through these case studies, we seek to identify how this pattern of interaction compares with similar experiences elsewhere vis-a-vis the theoretical underpinnings of multilateralism and bilateralism. Consequently, this book also examines the theoretical drift in international relations literature at the broadest level and the overall drift of Southeast Asian international relations between the nations themselves and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)."--P. xv.

This book asks why, in the wake of the Cold War, Japan suddenly reversed years of steadfast opposition to security cooperation with its neighbors. Long isolated and opposed to multilateral agreements, Japan proposed East Asia's first multilateral security forum in the early 1990s, emerging as a regional leader. Overcoming Isolationism explores what led to this surprising about-face and offers a corrective to the misperception that Japan's security strategy is reactive to US pressure and unresponsive to its neighbors. Paul Midford draws on newly released official documents and extensive interviews to reveal a quarter century of Japanese leadership in promoting regional security cooperation. He demonstrates that Japan has a much more nuanced relationship with its neighbors and has played a more significant leadership role in shaping East Asian security than has previously been recognized.

Drawing on insights from differentiation theory, this book examines the participation of middle powers in multilateralism. Taking Australia, Indonesia and South Korea as examples, the book examines these countries' roles in regional organizations, and particularly during the creation of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and East Asia Summit. Through its analysis, the book argues that middle powers pursue dilution of major power stratificatory forces, as well as functionally differentiated roles for themselves in multilateral diplomacy. The book sets out a valuable new framework to explain and understand the behaviour of middle powers in multilateralism.

Since the mid-1990s, the Chinese authorities have gradually come to embrace multilateralism to realize their basic foreign policy objectives in maintaining a peaceful international environment and enhancing China's international status and influence. This embrace is largely based on pragmatic considerations. There is no denial, however, that elements of liberalism and constructivism gradually enter into the considerations of Chinese leaders. They accept, for example, that non-traditional security issues can only be tackled through genuine multilateralism. This volume carefully examines China's increased participation in multilateral organizations and mechanisms and its efforts to initiate and develop its own discourses on global affairs straddling Asia, the Middle East, Africa and the Latin American continents. China's presence in international multilateral organizations has been providing developing countries a better chance to maintain a balance of power. Since China has no ambitious plan to transform the existing international order, its increasing enthusiastic engagement of multilateralism is likely to be accepted by the international community. Contents: PrefaceAbout the AuthorList of TablesAcronyms and AbbreviationsMultilateralism — Theoretical Issues and China's Approach in Foreign PolicyChina in Asia: China's Asian Policy in the Early Twenty-First Century: Adjusting to its Increasing StrengthChina's Regional Strategy and Challenges in East AsiaChina's ASEAN Policy in the 1990s: Pushing for Regional Multi-polarityThe Path of Least Resistance: China's Way of Engagement in Southeast AsiaThe ASEAN-China Free Trade Area — Success or Failure? A Preliminary Evaluation Based on Econometric EvidenceChina-ASEAN Economic Co-Operation and the Role of ProvincesChina and the World: The Shanghai Co-Operation Organisation: China's Initiative in Regional Institutional BuildingChina's Approach to Shanghai Co-operation Organisation: Institutional Building, Economic Co-operation and the Challenge from AfghanistanChina's Relations with the Gulf Co-operation Council States: Multi-level Diplomacy in a Divided Arab WorldChina's Approach to BRICSLatin America in China's Contemporary Foreign PolicyChina's African Policy in the Post-Cold War EraBibliographyIndex Readership: Policymakers, academics, professionals, undergraduate and graduate students interested in China's foreign policy. Keywords: Multilateralism;China;Foreign Policy;International RelationsReview: Key Features: It is a valuable reference book for undergraduate students, postgraduate students and scholars in the fields of China's foreign policy and international relations in the Asia-PacificIt is a most up-to-date account of China's approaches to its most significant multilateral regional organizations and forumsIn view of China's importance in international politics and economy, it is important to understand its policy