Showing papers on "East Asia published in 2008"

The Rise of China and the Future of the West: Can the Liberal System Survive?

Abstract: THE RISE of China will undoubtedly be one of the great dramas of the twenty-first century. China's extraordinary economic growth and active diplomacy are already transforming East Asia, and future decades will see even greater increases in Chinese power and influence. But exactly how this drama will play out is an open question. Will China overthrow the existing order or become a part of it? And what, if any thing, can the United States do to maintain its position as China rises? Some observers believe that the American era is coming to an end, as the Western-oriented world order is replaced by one increasingly dominated by the East. The historian Niall Ferguson has written that the bloody twentieth century witnessed "the descent of the West" and "a reorientation of the world" toward the East. Realists go on to note that as China gets more powerfiul and the United States' position erodes, two things are likely to happen: China will try to use its growing influence to reshape the rules and institutions of the international system to better serve its interests, and other states in the system especially the declining hegemon-will start to see China as a growing security threat. The result of these developments, they predict, will be tension, distrust, and conflict, the typical features of a power transition.

English in Asia, Asian Englishes, and the issue of proficiency

Abstract: The contemporary visibility and importance of English throughout the Asian region coupled with the emergence and development of distinct varieties of Asian Englishes have played an important part in the global story of English in recent years. Across Asia, the numbers of people having at least a functional command of the language have grown exponentially over the last four decades, and current changes in the sociolinguistic realities of the region are often so rapid that it is difficult for academic commentators to keep pace. One basic issue in the telling of this story is the question of what it is we mean by the term ‘Asia’, itself a word of contested etymology, whose geographical reference has ranged in application from the Middle East to Central Asia, and from the Indian sub-continent to Japan and Korea. In this article, my discussion will focus on the countries of South Asia, Southeast Asia, and East Asia, as it is in these regions that we find not only the greatest concentration of ‘outer-circle’ English-using societies but also a number of the most populous English-learning and English-knowing nations in the world.

Y chromosome evidence of earliest modern human settlement in East Asia and multiple origins of Tibetan and Japanese populations

Abstract: The phylogeography of the Y chromosome in Asia previously suggested that modern humans of African origin initially settled in mainland southern East Asia, and about 25,000–30,000 years ago, migrated northward, spreading throughout East Asia. However, the fragmented distribution of one East Asian specific Y chromosome lineage (D-M174), which is found at high frequencies only in Tibet, Japan and the Andaman Islands, is inconsistent with this scenario. In this study, we collected more than 5,000 male samples from 73 East Asian populations and reconstructed the phylogeography of the D-M174 lineage. Our results suggest that D-M174 represents an extremely ancient lineage of modern humans in East Asia, and a deep divergence was observed between northern and southern populations. We proposed that D-M174 has a southern origin and its northward expansion occurred about 60,000 years ago, predating the northward migration of other major East Asian lineages. The Neolithic expansion of Han culture and the last glacial maximum are likely the key factors leading to the current relic distribution of D-M174 in East Asia. The Tibetan and Japanese populations are the admixture of two ancient populations represented by two major East Asian specific Y chromosome lineages, the O and D haplogroups.

Food Prices, Quality, and Quality's Pricing in Supermarkets versus Traditional Markets in Developing Countries

Abstract: Supermarkets are spreading rapidly in developing countries. The diffusion is occurring in three "waves." The first wave was in South America, East Asia (outside China), and South Africa, "taking off" in the early 1990s; the share of supermarkets in food retail went from roughly 10-20% in 1990 to 50-60% today. The second wave was in Central America, Mexico, and Southeast Asia, taking off in the mid 1990s, and reaching 30-50% today. The third wave was in China, India, Vietnam, parts of Africa such as Kenya, taking off in the late 1990s to early 2000s, reaching 1-20% today (Reardon et al.). There is a late third and even fourth wave just emerging in parts of South Asia and Africa where supermarkets are still a tiny niche (Reardon and Timmer), such as in Madagascar (Minten). As supermarkets diffused and competed over the past decade, they have gradually adopted procurement system modernization, such as buying in bulk to lower costs and thus offer competitive prices, and imposing private standards to raise quality (Reardon and Timmer). There has, however, been no review of emerging evidence of whether supermarkets charge higher or lower food prices or offer higher quality than traditional retailers with whom they compete, and what price they charge for that quality differential if it exists. This article addresses this gap first by reviewing emerging evidence on supermarket-traditional retailer price and quality differentials, and then focusing in on a "late third-wave" case study (of

The rise of methamphetamine in Southeast and East Asia

Abstract: Introduction and Aims. Southeast and East Asia has become a global hub for methamphetamine production and trafficking over the past decade. This paper describes the rise of methamphetamine supply and to what extent use of the drug is occurring in the region. Method and Design. The current review uses data collected through the Drug Abuse Information Network for Asia and the Pacific (DAINAP) and other available sources to analyse retrospectively methamphetamine trends within Southeast and East Asia. Results. Southeast and East Asia has experienced a methamphetamine epidemic in the past decade which began around 1997 and peaked in 2000‐2001. While the situation has since stabilised in many countries, methamphetamine trafficking and use are still increasing in parts of the Mekong region and there is evidence of large-scale manufacture in Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines. Methamphetamine is typically smoked or ingested, but injection of the drug is apparent. Conclusion. While the peak of the methamphetamine epidemic has passed in parts of Southeast and East Asia, attention is needed to minimise the potential consequences of spreading methamphetamine production, trafficking and use in the Mekong region and in the peninsular and archipelago of Southeast Asia. [McKetin R, Kozel N, Douglas J, Ali R, Vicknasingam B, Lund J, Li J-H. The rise of methamphetamine in Southeast and East Asia. Drug Alcohol Rev 2008;27:220–228]

Securing Japan: Tokyo's Grand Strategy and the Future of East Asia

Abstract: For the past sixty years, the U.S. government has assumed that Japan's security policies would reinforce American interests in Asia. The political and military profile of Asia is changing rapidly, however. Korea's nuclear program, China's rise, and the relative decline of U.S. power have commanded strategic review in Tokyo just as these matters have in Washington. What is the next step for Japan's security policy? Will confluence with U.S. interests-and the alliance-survive intact? Will the policy be transformed? Or will Japan become more autonomous? Richard J. Samuels demonstrates that over the last decade, a revisionist group of Japanese policymakers has consolidated power. The Koizumi government of the early 2000s took bold steps to position Japan's military to play a global security role. It left its successor, the Abe government, to further define and legitimate Japan's new grand strategy, a project well under way-and vigorously contested both at home and in the region. Securing Japan begins by tracing the history of Japan's grand strategy-from the Meiji rulers, who recognized the intimate connection between economic success and military advance, to the Konoye consensus that led to Japan's defeat in World War II and the postwar compact with the United States. Samuels shows how the ideological connections across these wars and agreements help explain today's debate. He then explores Japan's recent strategic choices, arguing that Japan will ultimately strike a balance between national strength and national autonomy, a position that will allow it to exist securely without being either too dependent on the United States or too vulnerable to threats from China. Samuels's insights into Japanese history, society, and politics have been honed over a distinguished career and enriched by interviews with policymakers and original archival research. Securing Japan is a definitive assessment of Japanese security policy and its implications for the future of East Asia.

East Asian Regionalism

Abstract: East Asia is one of the world's most dynamic and diverse regions and is also becoming an increasingly coherent region through the inter-play of various integrative economic, political and socio-cultural processes. Fully updated and revised throughout, this new edition explores the various ways in which East Asian regionalism continues to deepen. The second edition has been expanded to incorporate coverage of significant issues that have emerged in recent years including: Growing tensions in the region over maritime territory and historical issues Competing regional free trade agreement negotiations The impact of the global financial crisis on financial co-operation and engagement with global governance Obama’s ‘pivot to Asia’ and developments in US relations with East Asia The influence of new technology and social media on micro-level regional relations The growing importance of ‘new diplomacy’ issues such as energy security, climate change, food security and international migration. Key pedagogical features include: end of chapter 'study questions' case studies that discuss topical issues with study questions also provided useful tables and figures which illustrate key regional trends in East Asia Extensive summary conclusions covering the chapter's main findings from different international political economy perspectives. East Asian Regionalism is an essential text for courses on East Asian regionalism, Asian politics and Asian economics.

Ultra-low fertility in Pacific Asia : trends, causes and policy issues

Abstract: 1. Very low fertility in Pacific Asian countries: Causes and policy responses GAVIN JONES, ANGELIQUE CHAN AND PAULIN TAY-STRAUGHAN 2. Explanations of low fertility in East Asia in comparative perspective PETER MCDONALD 3. Japan's declining fertility and policy responses NAOHIRO OGAWA, ROBERT D. RETHERFORD AND RIKIYA MATSUKURA 4. The Arrival of Low Fertility in China BAOCHANG GU 5. Socioeconomic development and fertility in the People's Republic of China and the Republic of Korea DUDLEY L. POSTON JR., HEATHER TERRELL KINCANNON AND JUNGWON YOON 6. The 1997 Asian economic crisis and changes in the pattern of socioeconomic differentials in Korean fertility DOO-SUB KIM 7. Ultra low fertility in Hong Kong: A review of related demographic transitions, social issues and policies to encourage childbirth PAUL YIP AND CK LAW 8. Ultra-low fertility in Singapore: some observations YAP MUI TENG 9. From Population Control to Fertility Promotion - A Case Study of Family Policies and Fertility Trends in Singapore PAULIN TAY-STRAUGHAN, ANGELIQUE CHAN AND GAVIN JONES 10. Fertility in Pacific Asia: looking to the future GAVIN JONES, PAULIN TAY-STRAUGHAN AND ANGELIQUE CHAN

Institutions and Institutional Purpose: Continuity and Change in East Asian Social Policy:

Abstract: Drawing on theories of institutional evolution, this article contends that despite the centrality of occupationally based social insurance in postwar Korea and Taiwan (and thus the impression of in...

The mechanics of production networks in Southeast Asia: The fragmentation theory approach

Abstract: Southeast Asia is truly a unique area in that it deeply gets involved with sophisticated international production networks extended to the whole East Asia. This chapter provides an overview on the current status of economic analysis on this issue, placing its emphasis on the newly developed fragmentation theory approach. The two-dimensional fragmentation model is introduced and employed for disentangling the mechanics of production networks as well as the spatial structure of networking in East Asia. Profound policy implication for further activating production networks and economic development in Southeast Asia and other less developed countries is also discussed.

Regionalism as an Engine of Multilateralism: A Case for a Single East Asian FTA

Abstract: As East Asia becomes increasing integrated through market-driven trade and FDI, free trade agreements (FTAs) are proliferating. Consodildation of mutiple and overlapping FTAs into a single East Asian FTA can help mitigate the harmful noodle bowl effects of different or competing tariffs, standards and rules. A region-wide FTA will also encourage participation of low-income countries and reduce trade-related business costs, particularly for small and medium enterprises. A computable general equibrium (CGE) model examines the economic impact of various types of FTAs in East Asia (among ASEAN 1's, ASEAN 3, and ASEAN 6) finding that consolidation at the ASEAN 6 level would yield the largest gains to East Asia among plausible regional trade agreements.

The Effect of Exchange Rate Volatility on International Trade in East Asia

Abstract: In this paper, we empirically investigate the relationship between exchange rate volatility and international trade, focusing on East Asia. Our findings are summarized as follows: first, intra-East Asian trade is discouraged by exchange rate volatility more seriously than trade in other regions. Second, one important source for the discouragement is that intermediate goods trade in international production networks, which is quite sensitive to exchange rate volatility compared with other types of trade, occupies a significant fraction of East Asian trade. Third, the negative effect of the volatility is greater than that of tariffs and smaller than that of distance-related costs in East Asia.

Toward a regional exchange rate regime in east asia

Abstract: . Deepening market-driven economic integration in East Asia makes intraregional exchange rate across the region increasingly desirable and necessary. The paper suggests that East Asia's emerging economies begin to choose a currency basket as a monetary policy anchor to enable all East Asian currencies to collectively appreciate vis-a-vis the US dollar, while maintaining intraregional rate stability, in the event of surges of capital inflows or a rapid unwinding of global payments imbalances. Following this initial step, East Asia may agree on more rigid intraregional exchange rate stabilization schemes through, for example, an Asian Snake or an Asian Exchange Rate Mechanism.

Surface observation of sand and dust storm in East Asia and its application in CUACE/Dust

Abstract: . The spatial-temporal distributions and sources of sand and dust storm (SDS) in East Asia from 2001 to 2006 were investigated on the basis of visibility and PM10 data from the routine SDS and weather monitoring networks run by CMA (China Meteorological Administration). A power functional relationships between PM10 and visibility was found among various regions generally with a good correlation (r2=0.90), especially in Asian SDS source regions. In addition, three SDS occurrence centers, i.e. western China, Mongolia and northern China, were identified with the Mongolia source contributing more dust to the downwind areas including Korea and Japan than other two sources. Generally, high PM10 concentrations were observed in most areas of northern China. The highest value was obtained in the center of western China with a spring daily mean value of 876 μgm−3, and the value in other source regions exceeds 200 μgm−3. These data sets together with the satellite observations in China form the main observation database for the evaluation and data assimilation of CUACE/Dust system – an operational SDS forecasting system for East Asia.

Patterns of middle class consumption in India and China

Abstract: Introduction Why Should We Vote? The Indian Middle Class and the Functioning of the World's Largest Democracy Rewriting the Code: Software Professionals and the Reconstitution of Indian Middle Class Identity The Indian Corporate Hospitals: Touching Middle Class Lives Chinese Middle Class: Reality or Illusion? Power of Knowledge: The Imaginary Formation of the Chinese Middle Stratum in an Era of Growth and Stability A Requiem for Songpan, or Once More about China's Civilizing Mission History and Heritage Woven in the New Urban Fabric: The Changing Landscape of Delhi's 'First City', 1995-2005 Eat, Drink, and Sing, and be Modern and Global: Food, Karaoke and Middle Class Consumers in China Transnational and Transcultural Circulation and Consumption of East Asian Television Drama Sex, Television, and the Middle Class in China Aspirational Weddings: The Bridal Magazine and the Canons of 'Decent Marriage' Yeh Dil Maange More ...Television and Consumer Choices in a Global City Consuming Art in Middle Class China Index

The Impact of Gender Inequality in Education and Employment on Economic Growth in Developing Countries: Updates and Extensions

Abstract: Using cross-country and panel regressions, we investigate to what extent gender gaps in education and employment reduce economic growth. Using most recent data and investigating a long time period (1960-2000), we update the results of previous studies on education gaps on growth and extend the analysis to employment gaps using panel data. the combined ‘costs’ of education and employment gaps in Middle East and North Africa and South Asia amount respectively to 0.9-1.7 and 0.1-1.6 percentage point differences in growth compared to East Asia. Gender gaps in employment appear to have an increasing effect on economic growth differences between regions, with the Middle East and North Africa and South Asia suffering from slower growth in female employment.

Ethical Perceptions of Business Students: Differences Between East Asia and the USA and Among “Confucian” Cultures

Abstract: This paper reports the results of a survey of 842 undergraduate business students in four nations – the United States of America (the USA), the Peoples’ Republic of China (the PRC), Japan, and the Republic of Korea (the ROK). This survey asked students to respond to four scenarios with potentially unethical business behavior and a string of questions related to the importance of ethics in business strategy and in personal behaviors. Based on arguments related to differences in recent historical experiences, the authors suggest that student responses may be as different within the East Asian (Confucian) environment as they are between this environment as a whole and the USA. Survey results indicate a greater perception of ethical problems and more importance placed on ethics per se in business practices, as well as less of an emphasis on social harmony (a key distinguishing characteristic of Confucian values identified in prior research) on the part of USA students. At the same time, substantial national differences in response are also witnessed within the set of East Asian students. A priori expectations as to the manner in which these East Asian responses should vary based on differences in recent historical experiences are partially, but not fully, supported. The authors argue that the key value of the reported research rests on a demonstration that national differences within a common cultural (e.g., East Asian or Confucian) area can be as great as differences across cultural (East vs. West) areas and that practitioners of global business must fine-tune their expectations as to acceptable business and personal actions to accommodate specific national historical experiences to be effective.

Managing the noodle bowl: the fragility of east asian regionalism

Abstract: The paper argues that East Asian regionalism is fragile, since (i) each nation's industrial competitiveness depends on the smooth functioning of "Factory Asia" — in particular, on intra-regional trade; (ii) the unilateral tariff-cutting that created "Factory Asia" is not subject to WTO discipline (bindings); (iii) there is no "top-level management" to substitute for WTO discipline, i.e., to ensure that bilateral trade tensions — tensions that are inevitable in East Asia — do not spillover into region-wide problems due to lack of cooperation and communication. This paper argues that the window of opportunity for East Asian "vision" was missed; what East Asia needs now is "management", not vision. East Asia should launch a "New East Asian Regional Management Effort", with a reinforced ASEAN + 3 being the most likely candidate for the job. The first priority should be to bind the region's unilateral tariff cuts in the WTO.

To Build A “Harmonious World”: China’s Soft Power Wielding in the Global South

Abstract: This study attempts to answer a new but important question in China’s foreign policy— how Beijing has wielded its soft power to construct its ideal of international order in the age of China’s rise. Before empirical analyses, this study tries to set up a conceptual framework on the relations between the idea of “harmonious world” and China’s soft power wielding in its rising process. Within this framework, this study examines a rising China’s foreign policies towards three targeted regions in the global south—Africa, East Asia, and Latin America. On the one hand, due to Beijing’s carefully-designed and soft power-based foreign policies, the global south has become an increasingly harmonious environment for Beijing to cultivate a favorable national image, exert its political influence on regional affairs, benefit its own domestic economic developments, etc. On the other hand, some problems such as the so-called “China’s New Colonialism” and the increased vigilance from the other powers have already began to challenge Beijing’s harmony in those regions.

The Formation and Deformational Characteristics of East Asia Multi-Direction Convergent Tectonic System in Late Jurassic

Abstract: The accumulation of new data of plate tectonics and high-resolution isotopic dating brings on the profound understanding of the tectonic events in eastern China during the Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous.The simultaneous opening of three major global oceans during Late Jurassic(since 165±5 Ma) and subduction of paleo-Pacific,Neo-Tethys and Mongolia-Okhotsk oceans around East Asia,forms Yanshanian multi-direction compressional and convergent tectonic system in eastern China and East Asia,which is named as East Asian multi-direction convergent tectonic system(i.e.,East Asia Convergence).The East Asia Convergence initiates the classical Yanshan Movement,resulting in characteristic deformation styles in East China.The stable Ordos and Sichuan blocks compose the two rigid continental cores in the system,with Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous multi-direction compressional deformation and foreland basins formed around them.Additionally,the East Asia Convergence affects the intra-plate deformation in east and central Asia during Yanshan movement,forms conjugated NS compressional Mongolian Arc of strike-slip and thrust fault system,and intracontinental Yanshan-Yinshan and Dabieshan-Dabashan orogenes.The East Asia Convergence,with profound global tectonic settings and dynamic origin,is an important scientific topic.

Economic Implications of Asian Integration

Abstract: The Asian countries are once again focused on options for large, comprehensive regional integration schemes. In this paper we explore the implications of such broad-based regional trade initiatives in Asia highlighting the bridging of the East and South Asian economies. We place emphasis on the alternative prospects for insider and outsider countries. We work with a global general equilibrium model of the world economy, benchmarked to a projected 2017 sets of trade and production patterns. We also work with gravity-model based estimates of trade costs linked to infrastructure, and of barriers to trade in services. Taking these estimates, along with tariffs, into our CGE model, we examine regionally narrow and broad agreements, all centered on extending the reach of ASEAN to include free trade agreements with combinations of the northeast Asian economies (PRC, Japan, Korea) and also the South Asian economies. We focus on a stylized FTA that includes goods, services, and some aspects of trade cost reduction through trade facilitation and related infrastructure improvements. What matters most for East Asia is that China, Japan, and Korea be brought into any scheme for deeper regional integration. This matter alone drives most of the income and trade effects in the East Asia region across all our scenarios. The inclusion of the South Asian economies in a broader regional agreement sees gains for the East Asian and South Asian economies. Most of the East Asian gains follow directly from Indian participation. The other South Asian players thus stand to benefit if India looks East and they are a part of the program, and to lose if they are not. Interestingly, we find that with the widest of agreements, the insiders benefit substantively in terms of trade and income while the aggregate impact on outside countries is negligible. Broadly speaking, a pan-Asian regional agreement would appear to cover enough countries, with a great diversity in production and incomes, to actually allow for regional gains without substantive third-country losses. However, realizing such potential requires overcoming a proven regional tendency to circumscribe trade concessions with rules of origin, NTBs, and exclusion lists. The more likely outcome, a spider web of bilateral agreements, carries with it the prospect of significant outsider costs (i.e. losses) both within and outside the region.

Reshaping Economic Geography in East Asia

Abstract: Reshaping economic geography in East Asia illustrates how extensively spatial factors have influenced and informed by growth and development in the region. This study was conceived as a companion volume to and informed by the World Development Report (WDR) 2009: reshaping economic geography. By providing case studies and illustrative examples and by deepening the understanding of the forces of economic geography in the East Asia region, this work helped to substantiate some of the key concepts in the WDR 2009. There is full consistency in terms of the analytical framework used and broad agreement on how economic geography has influenced growth trends across a diverse range of countries. Reshaping economic geography in East Asia also highlights the dramatic urbanization process under way in the region, evidenced by the number of globally recognized 'mega cities'. Seven of the world's 21 mega cities are in East Asia. Cities in East Asia generate about three-quarters of annual output and between a half and two-thirds of exports. Often, much of this is concentrated in one major city: Bangkok. Bangkok accounts for 40 percent of Thailand's gross domestic product (GDP) and Manila for 30 percent. Other major centers such as Guangzhou, Jakarta, Seoul, Shanghai, and Tokyo are seen as driving their economies. East Asian cities have been able to deliver the agglomeration benefits required for growth and are now exceptionally well connected to the global economy. The region, excluding Japan, is home to 16 of the largest 25 seaports in the world and 14 of the largest 25 container ports. Without this improved connectivity, the region's rapid expansion in trade volumes will not have been possible. This collection of studies is organized in four sections. The first section comprises chapters dealing with the 'context and concepts' for this volume. The second deals with Southeast Asia, specifically, the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries. The third deals with Northeast Asia: China and the Republic of Korea, and the fourth section provide an overview of lessons learned. The time perspective for most of the studies spans several decades; in many cases, outcomes and policies can be traced back half a century or more.

Pacific currents : the responses of U.S. allies and security partners in East Asia to China's rise

Abstract: China's importance in the Asia-Pacific has been on the rise, raising concerns about competition the United States. The authors examined the reactions of six U.S. allies and partners to China's rise. All six see China as an economic opportunity. They want it to be engaged productively in regional affairs, but without becoming dominant. They want the United States to remain deeply engaged in the region.

The effect of exchange rate volatility on fragmentation in East Asia: Evidence from the electronics industry

Abstract: East Asia is characterized by intricate production and distribution networks that allow fragmented production blocks to be allocated across countries based on comparative advantage. These networks have produced enormous efficiency gains. Exchange rate volatility, by increasing uncertainty, may reduce the locational benefits of cross-border fragmentation. This paper presents evidence that exchange rate volatility decreases the flow of electronic components within East Asia. Electronic components is by far the largest category of intermediate goods traded within these networks. These results imply that policy makers should consider how to maintain stable exchange rates in the region in order to provide a steady backdrop for East Asian production networks. J. Japanese Int. Economies 22 (4) (2008) 535–544.

ASEAN and Multilateralism: The Long, Bumpy Road to Community

Abstract: From a geopolitical perspective, the Asian littoral divides into three subregions: Northeast Asia (the People's Republic of China, Japan, North and South Korea, Taiwan and the Russian Far East), Southeast Asia (Brunei, Cambodia, East Timor, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam) and South Asia (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka). Both Northeast Asia and South Asia contain political and economic Great Powers. In the latter, India's economic activities and growing politico-security influence extend to all of Asia. In the former, Japan, China, South Korea and Taiwan play significant global economic roles, while Tokyo and Beijing are also major political-security players. By contrast, Southeast Asia contains no Great Powers with global reach. While the region consists of several states with vibrant economies--Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand--or economic potential--Vietnam and Indonesia--in geopolitical stature, Southeast Asia pales in comparison to its Northeast and South Asia neighbours. Yet Southeast Asia is where most Asian regional organizations originate and whose structures and procedures are determined by Southeast Asian preferences. The primary goal of this article is to explain how this has happened, what the implications are for Asia's future and whether Southeast Asian states organized for the past forty years through the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will be able to maintain their pivotal position in Asian affairs. For the past several decades, the Asia-Pacific region has been marked by a difficult asymmetry: the most dangerous disputes lie in Northeast and South Asia while the region's multilateral institutions designed to manage and reduce conflict have originated in Southeast Asia. While ASEAN has maintained its organizational integrity, it has added new internal and external dimensions. The former include the incipient ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA), the ASEAN Interparliamentary Organization which has been particularly vocal in condemning Myanmar's human rights violations, and the "Track Three" ASEAN People's Assembly, an NGO that brings a variety of societal interest groups together to lobby ASEAN governments. ASEAN-dominated organizations encompass the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) on security matters, ASEAN+3 (Japan, South Korea and China), various ASEAN+1 dialogues with important states, the ASEAN-Europe meeting (ASEM), and most recently, regular dialogues with the Gulf Cooperation Council, Africa and Latin America. The newest and most contentious addition to the mix is the East Asian Summit (EAS) inaugurated in December 2005. The EAS brings ASEAN+3 countries together with India, Australia and New Zealand--all of which have signed ASEAN's Treaty of Amity and Cooperation (TAC) as a membership condition. Conceptualizing ASEAN The Asia-Pacific region has no hegemon. Instead, political, economic and social networks proliferate. Regional issues are addressed through collective action. The various frameworks have diminished the strength of the absolute sovereignty norm that dominated ASEAN at the time of its 1967 creation. Over the ensuing decades, security issues have become increasingly transnational. Money laundering, human trafficking, environmental degradation, multi-national river development, migratory maritime species, terrorism and piracy require multilateral regime building rather than ad hoc diplomacy. In theory, at least, organizations such as ASEAN have established procedures and decision-making rules in which all governmental stakeholders have a voice. (2) Conceptualizing ASEAN, International Relations theorists generally employ three analytical frameworks: neo-realism, neoliberalism and constructivism. (3) Neo-realists disdain ASEAN's role in regional security because, in their view, institutions are epiphenomenal. Stability depends on the distribution of power within the Asia-Pacific and not on an international organization of small and medium states confined to Southeast Asia. …