Summary
This book provides a comprehensive survey of the development and operations of the navies of South-East Asia since the end of World War II.
The navies of South-East Asia have rarely been the subject of systematic attention but, as the maritime strategic balance within Asia becomes more complex and open to challenge through the rise of China, they will play increasingly significant roles. While most have had only limited strength in the past, the majority are acquiring new capabilities, notably submarines, which will profoundly alter their ability to influence events.
This volume outlines the difficulties that each navy has faced in developing capability in competition, not only with local armies and air forces, but with other national requirements. The authors analyse the way in which each has been shaped by history and by changing maritime strategic concepts, particularly through developments such as the 1982 Law of the Sea Convention. Drawing upon this contextual information, the book goes on to examine how the navies are likely to develop in the future, what new challenges they will face and the nature of the roles they will play within a region of increasing global strategic significance.
This book will be of much interest to students of naval policy, SE Asian politics, regional security, strategic studies and IR in general.
Country or Region: Thailand
Kang, David
From the publisher: This article is composed of three major sections. In the first section, I explain why the pessimistic predictions of the 1990s about a return of power politics to Asia have not materialized and why scholarship needs to acknowledge this fact. In the second section, I argue that the Chinese experience of the past two decades poses a challenge to realist theories. The third section argues that Asian countries balance differently from countries in the West. I conclude by discussing the tension between area studies and political science theorizing in the field of comparative politics. I argue that this tension is healthy because it forces both sides of the debate to sharpen their scholarship. The field of international relations can benefit from such a discussion, as well. Elevating the Asian experience to a central place in the study of international relations will provide an excellent opportunity to inject vitality into the stale paradigm wars that currently characterize the field.
At the time of the article’s publication, David C. Kang is Associate Professor of Government and Adjunct Associate Professor at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College.
Ganguly, Rajat, et al
From the publisher: This book uses empirical evidence from various case studies to examine the relationship between territorial and regional autonomy, the nation-state and ethnic conflict resolution in South and South-East Asia. The concept of territorial or regional autonomy holds centre stage in the literature on ethnic conflict settlement because it is supposed to be able to reconcile two paradoxical objectives: the preservation of the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the state, and the satisfaction of ethnic minorities’ right to national self-determination. Critics argue, however, that autonomy may not be the panacea for ethnic conflict in all cases.
The contributing authors begin with the concept of territorial or regional autonomy and subject it to a rigorous empirical analysis, which provides reliable evidence regarding the suitability of the autonomy solution to intractable ethnic conflicts. Drawing upon case studies from Kashmir, Assam, Sri Lanka, Aceh, Mindanao and Southern Thailand, this edited volume argues that autonomy arrangements may at best work to resolve only a handful of separatist ethnic conflicts in South and South-East Asia. This book will be of much interest to students of South and South-East Asia, Asian security, ethnic conflict, peace studies and IR in general.
To read more about the book, click here.
Hatch, Walter F
Summary
In Asia’s Flying Geese, Walter F. Hatch tackles the puzzle of Japan’s paradoxically slow change during the economic crisis it faced in the 1990s. Why didn’t the purportedly unstoppable pressures of globalization force a rapid and radical shift in Japan’s business model? In a book with lessons for the larger debate about globalization and its impact on national economies, Hatch shows how Japanese political and economic elites delayed—but could not in the end forestall—the transformation of their distinctive brand of capitalism by trying to extend it to the rest of Asia.
For most of the 1990s, the region grew rapidly as an increasingly integrated but hierarchical group of economies. Japanese diplomats and economists came to call them “flying geese.” The “lead goose” or most developed economy, Japan, supplied the capital, technology, and even developmental norms to second-tier “geese” such as Singapore and South Korea, which themselves traded with Thailand, Malaysia, and the Philippines, and so on down the V-shaped line to Indonesia and coastal China. Japan’s model of capitalism, which Hatch calls “relationalism,” was thus fortified, even as it became increasingly outdated. Japanese elites enjoyed enormous benefits from their leadership in the region as long as the flock found ready markets for their products in the West.
The decade following the collapse of Japan’s real estate and stock markets would, however, see two developments that ultimately eroded the country’s economic dominance. The Asian economic crisis in the late 1990s destabilized many of the surrounding economies upon which Japan had in some measure depended, and the People’s Republic of China gained new prominence on the global scene as an economic dynamo. These changes, Hatch concludes, have forced real transformation in Japan’s corporate governance, its domestic politics, and in its ongoing relations with its neighbors.
Hu, Chuanwen, and Georg Woite
An 1993 assessment by the International Atomic Energy Agency of nuclear energy developments in Asia, now one of the fastest growing locations for nuclear power.
Wan, Ming
Summary
For students of international political economy, it is hard to ignore the growth, dynamism, and global impact of East Asia. Japan and China are two of the largest economies in the world, in a region now accounting for almost 30 percent more trade than the United States, Canada, and Mexico combined. What explains this increasing wealth and burgeoning power? In his new text, Ming Wan illustrates the diverse ways that the domestic politics and policies of countries within East Asia affect the region s production, trade, exchange rates, and development, and are in turn affected by global market forces and international institutions.
Unlike most other texts on East Asian political economy that are essentially comparisons of major individual countries, Wan effectively integrates key thematic issues and country-specific examples to present a comprehensive overview of East Asia s role in the world economy. The text first takes a comparative look at the region s economic systems and institutions to explore their evolution a rich and complex story that looks beyond the response to Western pressures. Later chapters are organized around close examination of production, trade, finance, and monetary relations. While featuring extended discussion of China, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan, Wan is inclusive in his analysis, with coverage including Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Brunei, and the Philippines.
The text is richly illustrated with more than fifty tables, figures, and maps that present the latest economic and political data to help students better visualize trends and demographics. Each chapter ends with extensive lists of suggested readings.
Cole, Bernard D
Summary
An unprecedented description of the critical energy situation throughout Asia, this book examines the energy resources, naval forces, and national strategies of the nations of that vast landmass, set against the priorities and resources of the United States. Energy security in Asia is crucial to the continued economic growth and hence the national security of the region’s nations. Providing such security requires a combination of naval, political, and economic policies. Despite dramatic news coverage to the contrary, Cole’s research reveals that the nations of the region-of which the United States must be counted-are in fact acting more together than apart in striving to ensure the security of scarce energy resources they all require.
No issue in today’s international environment is more important than energy security. Even the North Korean nuclear development program must be taken as a subset of this subject. As the United States, the United Kingdom, and other nations have done in past decades, the People’s Republic of China is striving to establish proprietorship of energy resources throughout their lifecycle, from recovery from the ground to sale in the market place. This important book demonstrates the vacuity of that paradigm, illustrating the multilateral nature of energy security.
Fuhrman, Matthew
Summary
Nuclear technology is dual use in nature, meaning that it can be used to produce nuclear energy or to build nuclear weapons. Despite security concerns about proliferation, the United States and other nuclear nations have regularly shared with other countries nuclear technology, materials, and knowledge for peaceful purposes. In Atomic Assistance, Matthew Fuhrmann argues that governments use peaceful nuclear assistance as a tool of economic statecraft. Nuclear suppliers hope that they can reap the benefits of foreign aid—improving relationships with their allies, limiting the influence of their adversaries, enhancing their energy security by gaining favorable access to oil supplies—without undermining their security. By providing peaceful nuclear assistance, however, countries inadvertently help spread nuclear weapons.
Fuhrmann draws on several cases of “Atoms for Peace,” including U.S. civilian nuclear assistance to Iran from 1957 to 1979; Soviet aid to Libya from 1975 to 1986; French, Italian, and Brazilian nuclear exports to Iraq from 1975 to 1981; and U.S. nuclear cooperation with India from 2001 to 2008. He also explores decision making in countries such as Japan, North Korea, Pakistan, South Africa, and Syria to determine why states began (or did not begin) nuclear weapons programs and why some programs succeeded while others failed. Fuhrmann concludes that, on average, countries receiving higher levels of peaceful nuclear assistance are more likely to pursue and acquire the bomb—especially if they experience an international crisis after receiving aid.
Williams, Diarmaid
Pussayanawin, Watchara
Pachaly, Jost
Jost Pachaly, Director of Southeast Asia Office, Heinrich Böll Stiftung, discusses the status of nuclear debates in Thailand.
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Vivoda, Vlado
Dr. Vlado Vivoda is a Research Fellow at the Griffith Asia Institute, Griffith University, discusses the future of nuclear power in Asia.
You can access the article by clicking here.
You can access the article by clicking here.
Chongkittavorn, Kavi
Studwell, Joe
Summary
In the 1980s and 1990s many in the West came to believe in the myth of an East-Asian economic miracle. Japan was going to dominate, then China. Countries were called “tigers” or “mini-dragons,” and were seen as not just development prodigies, but as a unified bloc, culturally and economically similar, and inexorably on the rise.
Joe Studwell has spent two decades as a reporter in the region, and The Financial Times said he “should be named chief myth-buster for Asian business.” In How Asia Works, Studwell distills his extensive research into the economies of nine countries—Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, Vietnam, and China—into an accessible, readable narrative that debunks Western misconceptions, shows what really happened in Asia and why, and for once makes clear why some countries have boomed while others have languished.
Studwell’s in-depth analysis focuses on three main areas: land policy, manufacturing, and finance. Land reform has been essential to the success of Asian economies, giving a kick start to development by utilizing a large workforce and providing capital for growth. With manufacturing, industrial development alone is not sufficient, Studwell argues. Instead, countries need “export discipline,” a government that forces companies to compete on the global scale. And in finance, effective regulation is essential for fostering, and sustaining growth. To explore all of these subjects, Studwell journeys far and wide, drawing on fascinating examples from a Philippine sugar baron’s stifling of reform to the explosive growth at a Korean steel mill.
Thoroughly researched and impressive in scope, How Asia Works is essential reading for anyone interested in the development of these dynamic countries, a region that will shape the future of the world.
Prambudia, Yudha and Masaru Nakano
Abstract
Energy security is an increasingly important issue for East Asia Summit (EAS) countries. The Cebu declaration on East Asia Energy Security provides a common ground towards improving energy security. However, EAS countries are in a different situation and face different challenges. This leads to varying policies in dealing with energy security. This study provides an analysis of future environmental performance of three EAS countries with distinct socioeconomic and energy conditions from an energy security standpoint. A model which captures complex interrelationships between different aspects of energy security is developed for the study. Aspects related to energy, socioeconomics, and the environment are considered in the model. Policy scenarios which reflect governments’ efforts to improve energy security are developed for simulation. Analysis is performed by comparing each country performances indicated by measures related to CO2emissions. The results show that Japan would achieve a very small increase in CO2 emission growth. China would still produce the largest amount of CO2emission, but its growth would decrease significantly. In the contrary, Indonesia’s emission would be the smallest, but its growth would be the fastest. The results indicate that Indonesia’s commitment to the Cebu declaration goal will not be sustained. The study suggests that the Cebu declaration should be moved forward by including legally binding commitments and clear CO2 emission reduction targets.
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