The Asia Europe Meeting

This edited volume examines contemporary relations between Europe and Asia through the prism of the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM). ASEM is an informal forum for dialogue and cooperation between 53 partners from both regions. Having started in 1996, ASEM aims to enhance political dialogue, strengthen economic cooperation, and promote socio-cultural exchange. The book provides insights into past achievements, current challenges, and possible new directions for ASEM as a dialogue forum. The chapters focus on institutional design, the security agenda, economic cooperation, and cultural exchange and civil society outreach through the Asia-Europe Foundation. They also zoom in on ASEM’s Parliamentary Partnership, and the ongoing challenge of public awareness and visibility. Furthermore, they critically examine the implications of the widening process, the attempts to reinvigorate the forum, and the varied perspectives on ASEM’s value for both regions. Appealing to policy-makers, researchers, and students, this volume provides an in-depth analysis of a wide range of issues relating to the role of ASEM in contemporary international relations.

The inauguration of the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) in Bangkok in 1996 was celebrated with enthusiasm and hopes in the two regions because this forum represented a breakthrough in Asia-Europe relations. The region-to-region pattern of the relations becomes the study framework that enables the explorations of central themes which include the Asian regional identity, ASEAN collective diplomatic prominence, and the informality of the ASEM institution. In exploring those central themes, this book applies constructivist, realist, and neo-liberal institutional theories consecutively. The difference between Asian and European cooperative culture, as well as the longevity of an international institution, adds to the picture. This book contributes not only to the study of Asia-Europe relations but also to the understanding of regionalism in Asia.

The ASEM process began in March 1996 with the first Asia–Europe Meeting in Bangkok. It brings together the Heads of State or Government of 10 Asian countries and of the 15 Member States of the EU, along with the President of the European Commission. The initial Asia–Europe summit set in motion a process involving summit-level meetings every second year, ministerial meetings in between and more frequent meetings at the senior-official, working and expert level. The second ASEM summit was held in London in April 1998 and the third in Seoul in October 2000. The fourth summit will be held in Denmark in September 2002. The core ministerial meetings of the ASEM process (foreign affairs, economics and finance) normally take place every year; this year additional meetings of ministers of science and technology, environment and migration have been organised. The ASEM process was founded on the mutual recognition, in Asia and in Europe, that relations between our two regions needed to be strengthened, to reflect the increased importance of Asia on the world stage. The ASEM process reflects our evolution from an ‘aid and trade’ relationship, towards a more balanced and equal partnership. The Commission had already pointed to the need for a new partnership in its Asia strategy of July 1994, shortly before Singapore’s suggestion in November 1994 that an Asia–Europe summit be considered. The importance attached to ASEM has recently been confirmed in the ‘New Asia’ strategy, published in September 2001.

The Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) was designed in 1996 to bring Asia and Europe closer together. This collection brings together the discussions from the eighth annual ASEM summit held in October, 2010. Renowned academics and seasoned observers of Asia-Europe relations provide analysis and essential insights into the advantages and limitations of contemporary ASEM affairs, their most pertinent issues, and the role of ASEM in the development of new global governance. Written from an insider's perspective, this important book offers a profoundly multidisciplinary perspective on the way globalization is shaping national interest strategies across two continents.

'Julie Gilson's book provides a well-developed explanatory framework to understand the new economic, political and socio-cultural dimensions of contemporary Asia-Europe relations. . . The book provides a well-developed theoretical discussion on Asia-Europe relationships. . . This book is a good start and can serve as a reference for those who are interested in Asian studies, Asia-Europe relations and international political economy.' - Dong Guo, The Economic Journal

This book examines the interregional relations of the European Union with East Asia through the prism of the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM). ASEM currently brings together 16 Asian countries, the 27 member states of the European Union, as well as the ASEAN Secretariat and the European Commission. ASEM's ten-year anniversary and the Sixth Summit in Helsinki prompted reflection on the forum's accomplishments in three dimensions of interaction, its working methods, democratic involvement, public awareness and global strategic potential. The volume provides an in-depth evaluation of ASEM's first decade from a European perspective, including the achievements of the ASEM6 Summit and its implications for the future of the process. It also analyzes the role of interregional interaction as a tool for EU foreign policy.

Focusing on the economic, developmental, political and cultural issues of its member states, this book offers a critical assessment of the ASEM process since its inception in 1996, which now brings together all 27 EU members, the European Commission, and 16 East Asian states. The underlying theme of the book is that the Asia-Europe Meeting should be analyzed as an instance of international dialogue – in this case, dialogue between two groups of states from two different regions - rather than as a manifestation of two regions acting jointly to perform specific functions at an 'interregional' level. The conclusion is that with the exception of the discussion on the fight against international terrorism and the cultural dialogue, the Asia-Europe dialogue rarely meets the ideal conditions for international dialogue. The way forward proposed by the book in the conclusion involves a new approach combining the European practices of multilevel governance, variable geometry and several speeds. Using a unique and an innovative theoretical framework synthesizing the work of Tzvetan Todorov and Jurgen Habermas, and supported by extensive empirical research, this book will be of huge interest to students and scholars of Asian and European politics, as well as comparative politics, international relations and EU-Asia relations.