East Asia

Asia Industry Partnerships

by Chris Lipscombe

Published 30 June 2007

The Positively Wellington Business (PWB) Asia Industry Partnerships Programme has been developed to assist... more The Positively Wellington Business (PWB) Asia Industry Partnerships Programme has been developed to assist Wellington-based companies conduct market research, build market understanding and identify potential partners and export opportunities in key markets in East Asia.

Regional Organizations and International Politics: Japanese Influence over the Asian Development Bank and the UN Security Council

by Daniel Yew Mao Lim

Co-authored with James Raymond Vreeland, Forthcoming in World Politics, 2013, Vol 65 No. 1

Japan has consistently sought influence over the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), a platform from which it... more Japan has consistently sought influence over the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), a platform from which it seeks to shape global affairs. As Japan has a privileged position in the governance of another international organization – the Asian Development Bank (ADB) – we investigate whether Japan leverages its power in this international financial institution to facilitate project loans for the elected members of the UNSC. Analyzing panel data of ADB loan disbursements to 24 developing member-countries from 1968 to 2009, we find evidence that temporary UNSC membership increases ADB loans particularly during the post-1985 period, when Japan asserted greater influence in multilateral organizations. We estimate an average increase of about 30 percent in ADB loans when countries serve on the UNSC. Because of Japan’s history of imperialism and the regional tensions generated by the powerful US-Japanese alliance, the ADB provides a convenient mechanism by which to obfuscate favors for politically important countries. The organization can be used as a “nonpolitical cloak” to “legitimize controversial policies, helping Japan to share the risks and the blame” (Yasutomo 1993a: 339).

Korea's Search for a Global Role between Hard Economic Interests and Soft Power

by Thomas Kalinowski

Co/authored with Hyekyung Cho, published in "European Journal of Development Research" 24(2)

South Korea has been a rising economic power for some decades. It exhibits several behavioral traits associated with... more South Korea has been a rising economic power for some decades. It exhibits several behavioral traits associated with rising powers such as issue leadership and opportunity seeking. Korea aims to be an issue leader in the field of development, although it seeks to secure the foundations for further sustained economic growth. In this article, we investigate Korea's global strategy since the 1990s, aiming to translate its economic clout into global political influence. The focus is placed on a critical evaluation of the approach under the current Lee Myung Bak administration since 2008. This article examines the domestic factors that have led Korea to pursue its strategies of securing influence, including most notably the legacy of the mercantilist developmental state. The article raises cautionary concerns about the capacity of Korea to adopt a foreign policy that moves beyond economic self-interest and plays an active role in the creation of global public goods.

From Deputy Sheriff to Lone Ranger: The Foreign Policy of the Rudd Government

by Andrew Carr

Presented at the 2010 Australian Political Science Association's annual conference. Comments welcome

Just as John Howard was accused of being a Deputy Sheriff, we can view Kevin Rudd’s time in office as that of a Lone... more Just as John Howard was accused of being a Deputy Sheriff, we can view Kevin Rudd’s time in office as that of a Lone Ranger in foreign policy terms. In a way not seen perhaps since Whitlam was his own foreign minister, Prime Minister Rudd completely
dominated Australia’s foreign policy. He received little intellectual support from his party and little engagement by the opposition.

This isolated position of the Prime Minister was all the more significant given the activist middle power role Rudd sought to play.

As Prime Minister, Rudd set himself the goals of encouraging shifts in the regional norms and values
on issues such as nuclear non-proliferation, climate change, whaling and human rights, and developing a new multilateral institution by 2020 that could address economic, security and
social concerns. Yet just as Rudd’s isolation from his political colleagues eventually brought on his downfall, his isolation on foreign policy caused regional disquiet, needlessly created
conflicts and saw the first Prime Minister with clear foreign policy expertise since WW2 over-reach and under-deliver.

North Korea after Kim Jong Il: The Kim Jong Un era and its challenges

by Ruediger, Rudiger Frank

North Korea in 2010: Domestic Developments and the Economy

by Ruediger, Rudiger Frank

sample chapter from:
Rudiger Frank, James E. Hoare, Patrick Kollner and Susan Pares (eds., 2011): Korea 2011: Politics, Economy, and Society, Leiden: Brill

Asia’s Multi-Level Response to the Global Financial Crisis

by Jikon Lai

co-authored with John Ravenhill. Asia Europe Journal (2012)

While the GFC precipitated stagnation in the United States and throughout most of Europe, Asia escaped largely... more While the GFC precipitated stagnation in the United States and throughout most of Europe, Asia escaped largely unscathed (and notably suffered less economic damage than during the Asian financial crises of a decade earlier). In this article, we examine how the GFC has affected Asian states’ attitudes towards and participation in regional and global institutions. The GFC produced a significant disjunction in Asia’s inter-governmental relations in finance and trade at both the regional and global levels, most notably manifested in the multilateralization of the Chiang Mai Initiative, and Asia’s new role in global economic governance courtesy of its representation in the G20. However, substantial continuities are also evident in the divided interests of Asian countries: these not only threaten the effectiveness of regional cooperation but continue to prevent the region from effectively exercising its collective economic weight in global forums.

An adaptation of an article about an island in Panay

by Historically Digitized

Boracay island is undeniably one of the best beaches in the world, with its virgin forest and ecosystem truest of all nature.
Yes. As they all call it, it is truly an Island Paradise.

So what's the story behind that white glitters of sand? When you google it, 99% would say it has one shady unsure history and its name only became known around the Seventies - Bell Bottom years.

Boracay was just an unknown and private island decades ago. As history has it, it's past is as shaded as our... more Boracay was just an unknown and private island decades ago. As history has it, it's past is as shaded as our government's direction today. However, for the truth to be told, it was indeed one private island a long time ago inhabited by few islanders, mostly fishermen, and one family - Lamberto H. Tirol and Sofia Ner Gonzales.

Mongolský přechod k demokracii z pohledu teorie tranzice / The Mongolian Transition to Democracy from the Point of View of Transition Theory

by Pavel Maškarinec

published in: Politologický časopis / Czech Journal of Political Science, 2010, Brno : Mezinárodní politologický ústav Masarykovy univerzity, 17 (3): 271-297, ISSN 1211-3247.

This article deals with the democratic transition in Mongolia. In the first part the author analyses the character of... more This article deals with the democratic transition in Mongolia. In the first part the author analyses the character of the Mongolian communist regime, following the theory of nondemocratic regimes developed by Juan J. Linz and Alfred Stepan. The paper argues that the Mongolian communist regime can be classified as early post-totalitarian. The second part of the article focuses on the transition process. We apply theoretical concepts developed by Dankwart A. Rustow and Adam Przeworski, and typologies of transition by Samuel P. Huntington, Terry Lynn Karl and Phillippe Schmitter. The author’s conclusion is that the political change in Mongolia is possible to designate as a reform, using Karl-Schmitter’s typology, which the most advantage is the ability to evaluate the role of mass mobilization during the transition process.

Agricultural origins in the Korean Peninsula

by Gary Crawford

Plants and people from the Early Neolithic to Shang periods in North China

by Gary Crawford

East Asian plant domestication

by Gary Crawford

The origins of rice agriculture: recent progress in East Asia

by Gary Crawford

Prehistoric plant domestication in East Asia

by Gary Crawford

East Asia in the global governance of finance

by Thomas Kalinowski

2011. In Global Financial Stability: A Dialogue on Regulation and Cooperation. Selected Expert Papers from the Dialogue Forums 2010, edited by M. Metzger. Berlin: Deutsche Gesellschaft fuer Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ).

The global financial and economic crisis since 2008 has demonstrated the importance of East Asia for global economic... more The global financial and economic crisis since 2008 has demonstrated the importance of East Asia for global economic governance. Global problems like volatile financial markets, erratic exchange rates and global economic imbalances cannot be solved without the region that produces huge trade surpluses, accumulates the largest amount of foreign exchange reserves and accounts for an increasing share of international financial flows. East Asia is needed, but how does it respond to calls for global economic cooperation and more specifically to re-regulate global finance?

Democracy, Economic Crisis, and Market Oriented Reforms

by Thomas Kalinowski

2007. Comparative Sociology 6:344-373.

In this paper I analyze the nexus between economic crises, market oriented reforms, and democratization in Indonesia... more In this paper I analyze the nexus between economic crises, market oriented reforms, and democratization in Indonesia and Korea since the 1997/98 Asian financial crisis. I provide some support for the hypothesis that democracies are better able to survive economic crises than authoritarian regimes. In both countries democratization facilitated a crisis resolution strategy based on market oriented reforms. However, I assert that in the long run the social consequences of market-oriented reforms tend to undermine democratization partly because both are so closely linked and the majority of the population sees them as one. T is process does not necessarily destroy democracies but it leaves them more vulnerable to possible external shocks in the future.

Korea's Recovery since the 1997/98 Financial Crisis: The Last Stage of the Developmental State

by Thomas Kalinowski

2008. New Political Economy 13 (4):447-462.

In this article, I challenge the view that Korea‟s successful macroeconomic recovery from the 1997/98 financial crisis... more In this article, I challenge the view that Korea‟s successful macroeconomic recovery from the 1997/98 financial crisis was the result of market-oriented reforms and International Monetary Fund (IMF)-prescribed structural adjustments. I show that the recovery was mainly achieved by the „traditional strengths‟ of the pre-crisis development model, resting on export orientation and strong state capacity, rather than a transformation into a new „neoliberal‟ state. However, I also show that economic liberalisation and market reforms undermine state capacity and restrict a proactive and developmental role of the state. In short, the successful recovery was the last stage of the developmental state in Korea. The article is organised as follows. In section one, I provide a critical review of the relevant literature on Korean post-crisis restructuring and present my argument in more detail. In section two, I show that the main contributor in stabilising the economy and replenishing foreign currency reserves was Korea‟s exports, and not the process of regaining foreign investors‟ confidence through market opening and financial liberalisation. In section three, I illustrate the importance of state intervention for the economic recovery of Korea and, in section four, I argue that this state capacity is a product of the Korean developmental state, which has slowly been undermined by market-oriented reforms. I conclude in section five that Korea‟s successful recovery has been based on the two pillars of export orientation and state expansion, which face internal and external limitations, making a similar strategy unviable for other countries and even for potential future crises in Korea.

The politics of market reforms: Korea's path from Chaebol Republic to market democracy and back

by Thomas Kalinowski

2009. Contemporary Politics 15 (3):287-304.

This paper studies the politics of market-oriented reforms in Korea since the 1997/98 financial crisis. It focuses on... more This paper studies the politics of market-oriented reforms in Korea since the 1997/98 financial crisis. It focuses on the capacity of the state to implement these reforms, and challenges the view that successfully implemented market reforms follow a technocratic ‘best practice’ approach. On the contrary, this paper argues that reforms in Korea were relatively successful because they were political projects that went beyond ownership concepts of the IMF and World Bank. The temporary weakness of big business (chaebol) and the formation of reform coalitions by the government created a balance of power between societal interest groups that opened a political space for the government. The state regained some of the autonomy it had lost during the ‘Chaebol Republic’ from 1987 to 1997 and was able to implement reforms in a temporary corporatist framework. However, the chaebol adapted to the new situation and used the market-friendly reforms in their favour. The re-emergence of the chaebol undermined state autonomy and with the inauguration of the new President and former chaebol CEO Lee Myung Bak in 2008, Korea is arguably entering the second Chaebol Republic.

Regulating International Finance and the Evolving Imbalance of Capitalisms since the 1970s

by Thomas Kalinowski

2011. MPIfG Discussion Paper 11 (10).

In this paper, I put the ongoing G20 process of improving the regulation of international finance into a historically... more In this paper, I put the ongoing G20 process of improving the regulation of international finance into a historically informed perspective. To understand the driving forces behind and obstacles to international cooperation in governing finance I combine concepts from international political economy and comparative political economy (IPE and CPE) that have previously been only loosely connected. Building on the IPE literature that highlights the historical and political embeddedness of financial regulation I depart from the IPE focus on the globalization of US–UK financial market capitalism. CPE studies show that, since the 1970s, different variations of capitalism have reacted in distinct ways to the collapse of the Bretton Woods system, lower growth rates and saturated domestic markets. Most notably, there has been a divergence between the approaches of financializing countries (US, UK) and export-oriented countries (Germany, East Asian nations). The interdependence between financialized and export-oriented variations of capitalism has contributed to the dynamics and crises of international finance for the past four decades. This “imbalance of capitalisms” also became an obstacle to international cooperation in regulating finance. Faced with the “trilemma of economic policies,” the financialized and export-oriented variants of capitalism have chosen different com- binations of macroeconomic policies, currency policies, and the regulation of financial flows and financial firms. This divergence has led to conflicting preferences with regard to international cooperation to regulate finance.

Hanmi Hyo pcho (Korean-American cooperation) and the origins of South Korean state science (1945--1975)

by John P. DiMoia

dissertation, 2007