Regional Integration In East Asia And Europe

A fascinating insight into how regional organizations in Europe and East Asia are currently grappling with a striking number of essentially similar challenges. This issue-based overview of political integration focuses on the differences and similarities in regional integration levels and processes in the two regions, to examine how the long-term future, role and impact of organizations such as the EU and ASEAN may depend heavily on how well they deal with complex and conflict-laden issues in the next few years. This volume analyzes the historical development, current state and prospective future evolution of political integration in the two regions. These leading authors identify key variables that account for the contrasting political integration levels, clearly demonstrating and explaining why the rhythm of integration in both regions varies. With contributions from both Asian and European scholars on each topic, this book delivers: comparative rather than a single region focus breakdowns of regional integration into key issue areas analysis of monetary cooperation and integration incisive assessments of institutional reform key topics of enlargement, including: identity, distributional equity, the distribution of power and effectiveness or decision-making efficiency discussion of regional and international security crises expert scholarship from both European and Asian perspectives This volume will be of great interest to students and scholars of IPE, international relations, political science, contemporary history and European studies and Asian studies.

This volume discusses the current trend of globalization and the main characteristics of world order, focusing specifically on the destiny of the nation state, the threat against human rights, and conflicts between unilateral hegemony of the USA and Europe. It examines the contemporary European experience and compares it with Asian reality with a view to implications for the future development of Asia. It also discusses regional integration as a framework for bringing stable peace, exploring detailed principles and specific forms of a regional community in Asia. Contributors from Europe and Asia critically review previous literature on this topic and suggest new theoretical and empirical grounds of regional community in Asia. The book takes the viewpoint of comparative civilization and experiences of European integration to offer meaningful lessons for the future of nation states and the possibility of building regional communities in Asia.

The aim of this book is to examine and compare the integration process in both Europe and Asia, and to draw some possible lessons for East Asia from the European experience, which culminated with the establishment of the economic and monetary union. The book embraces the political dimension of integration (peace and security), economic, trade and monetary aspects, and cultural aspects. Written by well-known experts in the field of integration, this book represents one of the first attempts at comparing Europe and Asia in the process of integration, by incorporating the latest developments in the field. The main theme of the book - integration in Asia from a comparative perspective - has been relatively unexplored as most experts in the field of integration are also 'area experts' (i.e. European integration experts or Asian experts). The contributors to the book provide a distinctive perspective based upon their understanding of integration (political, economic, and socio-cultural) across various regions of the world.

Asian regional integration, which has shown remarkable progress since the end of the 1990s, is at a major crossroads. It faces confusion of and debate over the direction and effectiveness of integration as well as friction brought about by the rise of China. Meanwhile, the changing balance of power among nations, the rise of nonstate actors, the internationalization of internal problems, and the internalization of international problems are rendering the cross-national structure of Asia increasingly complex and multilayered. Signs of instability of the global economy are growing, and environmental and resource challenges are deepening. East Asia needs new approaches to understanding the state of regional integration and mechanisms to address the challenges. Regional Integration in East Asia is the culmination of five years of intensive research on Asian regional integration by Waseda University. It reexamines theoretical approaches to comprehending the actual state of integration in the region and presents the most compelling ones. It also examines the state of cooperation in Asia in areas ranging from the economy to energy and the environment, security, and education. In addition, the book offers long-term historical perspectives, including those of Japan, ASEAN, and China on Asian regional integration. Thus, it sheds light on diverse aspects, levels of analysis, and time spans and offers a comprehensive portrayal of the actual condition of Asia and the state of attempts to build regional cooperation and institutions. This volume will open a new research frontier in Asian regional integration research.

This book applies a spatial economics perspective to the understanding of the recent dynamism of the global economy, with particular focus on East Asia, and examines the prospects of regional integration in East Asia.

Regional cooperation and integration have emerged as key issues for East Asia following the financial crisis. This book explores these issues, and examines the degree to which a new paradigm is emerging. It reviews the evolution of the concepts and practices of regionalism in East Asia, and considers the factors which are shaping new patterns of regional co-operation and integration. It includes discussions of historical developments, economic co-operation, socio-political factors, and defence and security. It considers the role of those states, including China and Japan, which have distinctive approaches to international relations, and assesses the role of regional international bodies such as ASEAN.

This volume offers to compare and explain variances of regionalism in Asia by disclosing the distinctive features of regional arrangements and how they evolved during the 1990s and 2000s against the background of a changing global environment. Moreover, it takes up a genuinely ‘inter-Asian’ perspective. By analysing and comparing diverse manifestations of regional integration agreements across Asia and its different sub-regions, it sets out to track their common characteristics and sub-regional facets with respect to their establishment, design and consequences. In addition, political processes accompanying their negotiation and implementation are scrutinized. The analysis encompasses nine case studies written by renowned scholars who together as a group combine an extraordinary mixture of different disciplinary backgrounds as well as expertise on shapes and processes of regional integration in different parts of Asia. The case studies seize on some of the most important features and controversial issues characterizing the second regionalism. Such are the emergence and impact of overlapping FTAs, regional financial and sub-regional economic integration and cooperation, power and the politics of regional integration as well as the nexus between conflict resolution, state failure and regional integration.

This book examines the drivers of regionalism and integration in both Europe and Asia and seeks to forge comparative perspectives between the two regions. Comprising contributions from scholars, analysts and policymakers, this volume explores and debates how and why regional bodies such as the European Union (EU) and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are formed and sustained. Furthermore, it examines the drivers of, and impediments to, regionalism and integration. The debates regarding what and who constitute drivers are presented in a fresh, thematic and comprehensive manner. Leadership and core states are also critically examined, whilst material, ideational and normative factors are all assessed comparatively. Significantly, in light of the global financial crisis, the book considers the role of crisis as a driver of regionalism and integration. This book will be of interest to students, scholars and policymakers interested in Asian and European politics and comparative politics.