International Relations of the Asia-Pacific - recent issues

Deepening ASEAN cooperation through democratization? The Indonesian legislature and foreign policymaking

Ruland, J. — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 08:33:42 PDT

Recent reforms of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are viewed by liberal institutionalists and constructivists as triggering a fundamental transformation of the ASEAN Way, the embodiment of the association's established, strictly intergovernmental cooperation norms. This article questions such reasoning, if it is causally linked to expectations of a greater deepening of ASEAN cooperation. Based on recent rationalist theorizing and Snyder's ‘nationalist elite persuasion’ hypothesis, the article argues that the causal relationships between democracy and regional integration are more complex than assumed in Eurocentric integration theories. By examining foreign policy debates in the Indonesian legislature, the article shows that foreign policymaking has become much more democratic and pluralistic since the end of President Suharto's New Order regime. However, as case studies of foreign policy issues suggest, democratic norms have often been localized by a neo-nationalist agenda that hamstrings the deepening of regional integration.

China's diplomacy toward Africa: drivers and constraints

Jakobson, L. — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 08:33:42 PDT

The increasingly multi-faceted engagement of China in Africa is part of China's growing global reach. Chinese diplomats strive to promote an image of a peacefully rising power, whereas Chinese businessmen seek natural resources and export markets. As a result, those responsible for Chinese foreign policy strategic thinking struggle to accommodate the needs of this diverse group of actors in Africa, well aware that as a major power, Beijing is expected to address international crisis. In Washington and Brussels, China is criticized for its support of despotic African regimes and its aid programs ‘with no strings attached’. In Sudan, in particular, China's credibility as a responsible nation is questioned. This article provides a concise overview of China's evolving diplomacy toward Africa, highlighting the Sino-Sudan relationship, with the aim of shedding light on the drivers and constraints on Beijing's motives and actions on the African continent. The article assesses some of the implications of Beijing's policy choices in Africa for its international relations.

Commerce between rivals: realism, liberalism, and credible communication across the Taiwan Strait

Chan, S. — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 08:33:42 PDT

China has become Taiwan's most important export and investment destination. This phenomenon is puzzling to realism as concerns for security externalities should discourage commerce between adversaries. Liberalism also has difficulty in accounting for this phenomenon because an absence of facilitative institutions should discourage commerce across the Taiwan Strait. This paper applies recent theoretical development on credible communication to this seemingly baffling situation. Whereas it has been suggested that commercial ties enable states to signal resolve short of military demonstration, I argue that these ties can also be used to credibly communicate reassurance and commitment to peaceful cooperation.

China, Japan, and East Asian regional cooperation: the views of 'self' and 'other' from Beijing and Tokyo

Wirth, C. — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 08:33:42 PDT

China–Japan relations are frequently analyzed either in the light of disputes about different interpretations of history, the consequence of a strategic power shift in the Asia-Pacific resulting from the rise of China or as a conflict between Chinese and Japanese national identities. This paper argues that bilateral relations should be assessed on the basis of a comprehensive approach. It concludes that the current state of bilateral relations can be understood as the result of identity crises of the political systems in Beijing and Tokyo. Owing to the rapidly changing environment in East Asia and their inherent conservative natures, both political systems' perceptions and policies lag behind present realities. This renders it difficult for them to effectively address important domestic and international problems and consequently affects bilateral relations negatively as it complicates the accurate redefinition of the representation of ‘self’ and ‘other’ with regard to foreign relations.

A not so dangerous dyad: China's rise and Sino-Japanese rivalry

Sakuwa, K. — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 08:33:42 PDT

In contemporary East Asia, political rivalry between China and Japan is often discussed. However, little has been done to systematically analyze the bilateral relationship and possible conflict escalation. In this paper, I employ the multiple-hierarchy model of regional politics offered by power transition theorists, in order to examine the recent Sino–Japanese relationship. After examining the effect of the factors suggested by the theory, I conclude that China's rise does not pose immediate destabilizing effects on regional security because the relative rise of China's capability is at best moderate. I also argue that the dyadic relationship has been pacified by several factors such as interest similarity and defense-dominant geography, in spite of China's overall rise. Finally, I offer some policy recommendations suggested by the theory-driven analysis.

Sorry States: Apologies in International Politics

Morii, Y. — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 08:33:42 PDT

Citizens and the State: Attitudes in Western Europe and East and Southeast Asia. Routledge Innovations in Political Theory 29

Kasza, G. J. — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 08:33:42 PDT

Russian perceptions and policies in a multipolar East Asia under Yeltsin and Putin

Rangsimaporn, P. — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 10:02:59 PDT

While the desire to counterbalance US unilateralism informed Russian perceptions and advocacy of multipolarity globally, the complex and fluid balance of power in a multipolar East Asia complicates Russian perceptions and policies of multipolarity regionally and counterbalancing US power became not the sole goal. Russia's aim in East Asia was to reassert its influence while ensuring a stable regional environment in order for Russia to restore itself as a great power. However, the relatively stabilizing US regional role, the rise of neighboring China, the prospects of Japanese remilitarization and strengthened US–Japanese military alliance, and the lack of a Northeast Asian security structure are factors that pose both challenges and opportunities for Russian policymakers in pursuing Russian interests and great-power aims. Such factors have served to make Russian perceptions and policy in East Asia somewhat contradictory. While Russia's great-power aspiration was relatively clear, the policies to achieve this remained vague and inconclusive.

Historical beliefs and the perception of threat in Northeast Asia: colonialism, the tributary system, and China-Japan-Korea relations in the twenty-first century

Gries, P. H., Zhang, Q., Masui, Y., Lee, Y. W. — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 10:02:59 PDT

Historical controversies continue to plague northeast Asian politics today, with Chinese and Koreans protesting Japanese history textbooks and Japanese politicians' visits to Yasukuni Shrine, and Koreans protesting Chinese claims that the ancient Kingdom of Goguryo was Chinese, not Korean. Yet, there is little empirical research exploring what, if any, impact historical beliefs have on threat perception and foreign policy preferences in northeast Asia today. On the basis of surveys of Chinese, Japanese, and South Korean university students, this paper explores the relationships among beliefs about the past, perceived threat in the present, and foreign policy preferences for the future. Results and their implications for northeast Asian security are discussed.

Ocean frontier expansion and the Kalayaan Islands Group claim: Philippines' postwar pragmatism in the South China Sea

Granados, U. — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 10:02:59 PDT

In 1946, the Philippines raised claims in the South China Sea over an area already known as Spratly Islands. This claim advanced through peculiar stages, starting when Thomas Cloma allegedly discovered islands in 1946, later named as Freedomland, and maturing to some extent in 1978 by the government's claim over the so-called Kalayaan Island Group. Considered as an oceanic expansion of its frontiers, this paper reviews the basis of the claim, first over the nature of Cloma's activities, and secondly over the measures the Philippine government took as a reaction of Cloma's claim of discovery of an area already known in western cartography as the Spratlys. Eventually, what is the nature of the link between the 1978 Kalayaan Islands Group's official claim and 1956 Cloma's private one?

News coverage and Japanese foreign disaster aid: a comparative example of bureaucratic responsiveness to the news media

Potter, D. M., Van Belle, D. — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 10:02:59 PDT

This paper examines news coverage of overseas natural disasters in Japan and the United States and assesses the extent to which that coverage affects amounts and types of emergency assistance provided by each country's ODA program. The comparison between the two cases allows for the examination of the different effects of media on foreign policy as well as the different ways in which those effects are filtered through institutional arrangements within the aid policy-making apparatus in each country. Following up comparative work on media impact on development aid programs in five countries, this paper argues that the organization of emergency assistance programs is a key determinant in explaining media impact on aid policy.

Investigating Japanese government's perceptions of the postwar world as revealed in prime ministers' Diet addresses: focussing on East-West and North-South issues

Suzuki, T. — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 10:02:59 PDT

This study applies content analysis to Japanese prime ministers' Diet addresses in order to examine the Japanese government's perception of the world after World War II. Since the end of the Cold War, many scholars have revealed more strategic and proactive aspects of Japanese foreign policy by investigating broader issues or longer time periods. Methodologically, these studies as well as conventional studies derive the character of Japanese foreign policy mainly from an examination of documentary sources or case studies, thus further empirical evidence can help these discussions. By investigating the long-term perception focussing on North-South issues as well as East-West issues, we show that there are aspects of Japanese foreign policy with an individual character. We conclude that this method provides empirical evidence and helps to construct a multidimensional perspective for characterizing Japanese foreign policy, and thus contributes to the recent lively discussions on this topic.

Contemporary conservative thoughts in Japan: conservative views on morality, history, and social issues

Kaihara, H. — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 10:02:59 PDT

This article discusses the political thoughts of conservatives. What makes their thoughts distinctive is their understanding of the state of the nation: the Japanese people are degenerating. Especially they worry about the youth. Horrendous juvenile crimes, bad manners, school bullying, and declining academic capabilities force them to paint Japan's future gloomily. Conservatives believe that the taproot of these social problems is a lack of morality: they have lost the will to tell what is right or wrong. They believe that morality is possible only when people embrace tradition and history. However, the Japanese cannot have pride in their history and country because of public discourse propagated by America's occupation policies and leftist ideologies. They also believe that public schools must concern not only on students' knowledge but also on their moral characters, such as the will to live. To raise pupils and students with moral characters, family must get involved along with schools.

Money Orders: Ambiguous Economics, and Ubiquitous Politics

Katada, S. N. — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 10:03:00 PDT

The Political Economy of Regionalism in East Asia. Integrative Explanation for Dynamics and Challenges

Solis, M. — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 10:03:00 PDT

Teaching international relations in Southeast Asia: historical memory, academic context, and politics - an introduction

Chong, A., Hamilton-Hart, N. — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 01:06:20 PST

The teaching of international relations (IR) at universities in Southeast Asia plays a role in the production of knowledge about the IR of Southeast Asia. As a complement to the scrutiny of published research output, a focus on teaching offers one pathway toward comprehending the constitution of meaning in both the IR of Southeast Asia and the broader IR discipline. This introduction to a collection of essays on the teaching of IR in Southeast Asia also discusses the potential ways by which attention to teaching may uncover the socializing role of pedagogy. An inquiry into the discipline as it is taught in the region throws light on how particular national legitimating myths are reproduced, the transmission of collective historical memories, the dominance of certain schools of international thought, and the role of civil society in Southeast Asian knowledge production.

Teaching international relations in Singapore 1956-2008: from supporting development to global city aspirations?

Chong, A., Tan, S. S. — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 01:06:20 PST

This preliminary survey of international relations (IR) teaching in Singapore argues that while the hegemonic goals of the nation-state have been pervasive since 1956, the influences upon IR teaching have become more complex and subtle in tandem with Singapore's transition from pristine developmentalism to an aspiring global city. Today, IR teaching has acquired characteristics of a division of labor among the main universities, research institutes, and business-oriented schools. Nonetheless, the dialectics of whether the future lies in open-ended knowledge inquiry or hewing to some version of state-associated pragmatism remains unresolved.

International relations in Indonesia: historical legacy, political intrusion, and commercialization

Hadiwinata, B. S. — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 01:06:20 PST

This paper is about the development of international relations (IR) as a field of study in Indonesian universities. It argues that IR as a discipline has been encountering a paradox. On the one hand, while the discipline has been increasingly held in high esteem by students, marked by an increasing number of applicants to IR departments across the country; on the other hand, IR scholars show too little commitment to research and publication for the development of the discipline; and if they do publish, the quality of writing is generally poor. This article indicates that the paradox of teaching IR in Indonesia has much to do with historical legacies and political intrusion, as well as an economic environment in which universities are increasingly driven toward commercial activities. All these factors shape the current development of social science in general, and IR in particular.

Teaching international relations in Thailand: status and prospects

Prasirtsuk, K. — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 01:06:20 PST

International relations (IR) as it is taught in Thailand possesses developmental characteristics that have curbed its growth in the past. Through a combination of institutional and trend analyses, it will be argued that IR teaching in Thailand is at a turning point where externally driven developments are compelling a certain level of professionalization and engagement with global debates.

International relations in Malaysia: theories, history, memory, perception, and context

Balakrishnan, K.S. — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 01:06:20 PST

The article makes a preliminary survey of the teaching of international relations (IR) in Malaysia. It starts by describing the origins of the field, and the emergence of an IR epistemic community joining both academia and government. This account is necessarily derived from the experiences of the four most established Malaysian universities distinguished by length of existence and official favor. Subsequently, the survey would describe course content and influences going into their design. The penultimate sections would attempt to place the evolution of Malaysian IR teaching within a historical context. This survey nonetheless concludes that nationalist aspirations continue to remain a secondary influence when compared with intellectual dependence upon the West in the design of IR education in Malaysia.

Teaching international relations in Vietnam: chances and challenges

Minh, P. Q. — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 01:06:20 PST

This paper traces the evolution of the teaching of international relations (IR) in Vietnam, from the establishment of the first Institute of International Relations in 1959 to the proliferation of departments of IR or international studies from the 1990s. It notes the limitations facing teachers of IR and efforts to develop and standardize the curriculum in recent years. It also examines the way national history is portrayed in the teaching of Vietnam's foreign policy and regional relations in Southeast Asia, with increasing attention paid to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations from the 1990s.

The balance of great-power influence in contemporary Southeast Asia

Ciorciari, J. D. — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 01:06:20 PST

This article reviews and critiques recent scholarly work on Southeast Asian relations with the great powers, examining the strategies that ASEAN governments have used and the effects of those strategies. The author argues that Southeast Asian governments have generally steered away from traditional balance of power politics to promote a more complex ‘balance of influence’ comprising military, economic, institutional, and ideational dimensions. A key feature of this balance of influence strategy has been its inclusiveness. Southeast Asian governments have invited competing great powers to participate in the region's economic and diplomatic affairs so that they develop stakes in the region's peace and prosperity. The author contends that Southeast Asian efforts have been relatively successful to date, contributing to a multi-dimensional balance that is relatively resilient and places significant constraints on any external power's ability to exercise unwanted dominance in the region.

Embattled Garrisons: Comparative Base Politics and American Globalism

Ohtomo, T. — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 01:06:20 PST

Power and Security in Northeast Asia: Shifting Strategies

Hiwatari, Y. — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 01:06:20 PST

Governing Finance: East Asia's Adoption of International Standards

Katada, S. N. — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 01:06:20 PST