East Asian Studies

Localizing Global Rules: Public Participation in Lawmaking in Vietnam

by John Gillespie

33 Law and Social Inquiry (3) (2008). 673-707.

As the pace of legal harmonization in developing East Asian states increases to comply with international trading... more As the pace of legal harmonization in developing East Asian states increases to comply with international trading treaties, a disjunction is forming between legislative expectations and everyday business practices. Evidence considered in this article suggests that Vietnam is no exception. State control over public discourse favors the interests of business elites, while small-scale entrepreneurs struggle to make their views known. Lawmakers exposed to this asymmetric discourse rarely adjust global legal rules to suit the transactional requirements of small-scale entrepreneurs. As a consequence, the largely imported commercial legislative framework is increasingly reflecting the interests of business elites. The article concludes that for the state to develop a more inclusive regulatory regime, it needs to relax its control over public deliberation and give small-scale entrepreneurs more opportunities to convey local precepts and practices to lawmakers.

Developing a Discursive Analysis of Legal Transfers into Developing East Asia

by John Gillespie

41 New York University Journal of International Law and Politics, (2) (2008) pp. 101-161

Scholarly interest in the transnational circulation of legal ideas has increased in tandem with the growth of global... more Scholarly interest in the transnational circulation of legal ideas has increased in tandem with the growth of global trading blocks and the proliferation of law reforms projects in developing countries. It is timely to evaluate how successfully current theories about legal transfers, which arose from European and North American experiences, explain the diffusion of legal ideas into non-western legal systems, especially those in developing East Asia. This article argues that current theories propose misleading criteria to explain legal transfers into this rapidly transforming region, because they rarely consider comparative scholarship showing that much economic regulation takes place outside ‘rule of law’ legal doctrines and institutions. As a corrective, this article proposes a decentered system of analysis that shifts the focus of attention away from state centered laws and institutions towards the dialogical exchanges at the periphery of state power that adapt and transform imported laws.

Rethinking the Role of Judicial Independence in Socialist Transforming East Asia

by John Gillespie

56 International Comparative Law Quarterly (4) (2007) 837-70

This article argues that judicial independence is a poor indicator of the capacity of courts to effectively resolve... more This article argues that judicial independence is a poor indicator of the capacity of courts to effectively resolve commercial disputes. Judicial power is a more accurate measure because it assesses whether courts have sufficient jurisdiction, discretionary authority and enforcement powers to make decisions over socially meaningful commercial problems. In fact, judicial independence may reduce the power of newly emerging commercial courts in socialist transforming Asia, which need politics to protect them from interference by powerful governments and private investors. This article explores the trade-offs between judicial power and political patronage by inquiring into the circumstances where patronage may slide into interference. It also investigates the conditions in which judges are most likely to acquire or arrogate discretionary powers to understand politics on their terms. Finally, this article analyses the highly polarized views in this region about what constitutes valid judicial determinations. The message for international agencies contemplating judicial reforms is that reducing political influence and promoting law-based decisions will not uniformly generate popular support and legitimacy for courts.

Transplanted Company Law: An Ideological and Cultural Analysis of Market-Entry in Vietnam

by John Gillespie

51 International Comparative Law Quarterly (2002) pp. 641-672

The transplantation of company law to Vietnam is analysis in this article from broad ideological, cultural and... more The transplantation of company law to Vietnam is analysis in this article from broad ideological, cultural and political economy perspectives. A conceptually plausible explanation for cross-cultural legal borrowing has been synthesized from legal transplantation theory. It locates the history of corporate borrowing in Vietnam within a political and economic context. The article focuses on the interaction of Western market-entry principles with Vietnamese precepts and practices. It concludes by suggesting that transplant viability varies among different social groups, primarily according to their ideological, cultural and economic capacity to benefit from borrowed law—a hypothesis that gives this discussion relevance beyond the borders of Vietnam.

Exploring the Limits of the Judicialization of Urban Land Disputes in Vietnam

by John Gillespie

45 Law and Society Review (2) 2011 241-275

Economic and legal reforms have triggered waves of conflict over property rights and access to urban land in Vietnam.... more Economic and legal reforms have triggered waves of conflict over property rights and access to urban land in Vietnam. In this article I develop four epistemic case studies to explore the main precepts and practices that courts must negotiate to extend their authority over land disputes. Courts face a dilemma: Do they apply state laws that disregard community regulatory practices and risk losing social relevance, or apply community notions of situational justice that undermine rule formalism? I conclude that reforms designed to increase rule formalism in the courts may have the unintended consequence of reducing the capacity for judges to find lasting solutions to land disputes.

Asian Integration - Scope and Limits

by Reuben Wong

In ISPI Analysis no.14, Milan: Istituto per gli Studi di Politica Internazionale (ISPI), 2010.

"East Asia" shows signs of integrating into a more coherent economic area, and some optimistic observers... more "East Asia" shows signs of integrating into a more coherent economic area, and some optimistic observers even envisage a political unit in the making. This paper argues that integration in Asia is necessarily limited because it is essentially a series of overlapping state-directed initiatives without a clear overarching vision, and with low civil society participation. There are paradoxes - two internal and one external – in the current integration process(es) in Asia. First, these initiatives and activities are a response to economic imperatives for more ease (or rather, lower barriers to) trans-border flows of trade, investment, production and finance; they have achieved very little in promoting regional consciousness and identity. Second, there are no concrete commitments to resolving longstanding inter-state (much less intra-state) conflicts, and no shared visions of what an integrated Asia would look like. Third (and this is the external contradiction), there is a problem grappling with the place and role of the United States- how should the US be included? If it is, can the US be counted on as a full-fledged member of the region? These paradoxes will be examined in turn.

Publications of DAMIN Program

by Georges Depeyrot

www.anr-damin.net

The Precedence of State Interests and Memory of the “Century of Humiliation” in Shaping Chinese Foreign Policy

by Shiran Shen

Published in Sigma Iota Rho Journal of International Relations, 2012

Despite realist predictions of an expansionist China that aims to challenge U.S. hegemony in East Asia and beyond,... more Despite realist predictions of an expansionist China that aims to challenge U.S. hegemony in East Asia and beyond, Chinese foreign policy is mostly shaped by domestic dynamics—particularly state interests and lessons learned from China’s “Century of Humiliation” in the hands of Western and Japanese imperialist hands.  The three most fundamental Chinese national interests are: 1) safeguarding the PRC political system, 2) maintaining a peaceful international environment for China’s economic development, and 3) unifying the motherland.  Nationalism is sometimes included in the making of Chinese foreign policy, but does not override vital national interests.  In the decades to come, there is good reason to believe that China will be more willing to accept international leadership, but a growing sense of insecurity in terms of political stability might put confines on China’s foreign policy-making.  China’s rise is not necessarily the source of instability in Sino-American relations and, by extension, in the Asia-Pacific region.  To avoid making the “China Threat” a self-fulfilling prophecy, the U.S. should not to treat China as a threat.  It is important for the U.S. to nurture a generation of officials who can precisely interpret Chinese political thought and monitor China’s international behavior, which is a critical step towards building a constructive Sino-American relationship and enhancing world peace in the twenty-first century.

The Middle Ground Journal: Call for Submissions 3.1

by Hong-Ming Liang 梁弘明教授

Thailandia: i mille giorni di Thaksin Shinawatra

by Pietro P. Masina

in C. Molteni, F. Montessoro. M. Torri (a cura di), Le risposte dell’Asia alla sfida americana: Asia Major 2003. Milano: Mondatori, 2004.

[Non-refereed Op-ed] Whose Arms Will Embrace You? The United States and the Beijing Consensus

by Amarnath Amarasingam

The United States is increasingly playing a game of subtle communication in the international arena. I suspect we had... more The United States is increasingly playing a game of subtle communication in the international arena. I suspect we had a passing glimpse of this at the 19th Session of the Human Rights Council, which gathered in Geneva last month. The question is: who is the United States talking to and what is it trying to say?

Anti-Chinese attitudes in post-communist Mongolia: the lingering negative schemas of the past

by Mendee Jargalsaikhan

The Middle Ground Journal Call for Reviewers 1.0

by Hong-Ming Liang 梁弘明教授

What Role Can Trust Play? Conflicts and Trust‐Building in East Asia

by Sybille Reinke de Buitrago, Dr.

Why East Asia is a different story? National elites and international alliances

by Pietro P. Masina

in Bent Greve and Jesper Jespersen (eds) Globalization and Welfare. Roskilde: Roskilde University Press, 2004.

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.

Industry Creation and the New Geography of Innovation: The Case of Flat Panel Displays

by Jeffrey Hart

with Thomas P. Murtha and Stefanie Ann Lenway, in Martin Kenney and Richard Florida (eds.), Locating Global Advantage: Industry Dynamics in the International Economy (Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University Press, 2004).

Market Access or Efficient Production: Why Did South Korean Outward Direct Investment Persist After the Crisis?

by Matthew Winters

Diversity management travels to underexplored territories

by Mustafa Ozbilgin

Ozbilgin, M. and Syed, J. (2010) Diversity management travels to underexplored territories in Ozbilgin and Syed (eds) Managing Gender Diversity in Asia, Edward Elgar Press: Cheltenham and New York.

Managing workforce diversity constitutes an important area of global corporate activity (Ferner et al., 2005),... more Managing workforce diversity constitutes an important area of global corporate activity (Ferner et al., 2005), although it can be considered a relatively new organisational paradigm (Gilbert et al., 1999). Diversity management continues to fascinate management scholars as diversity promises advancement in knowledge, evolution and innovation (Härtel, 2004). However, the diversity management phenomenon remains underexplored in the Asian context. In writing this chapter, we are motivated by the fact that the oft-cited studies of diversity, for example, Sanchez and Brock (1996) and Harrison et al. (1998), are limited to the English-speaking geographies. Furthermore, mainstream theorisation in the field has been rather anaemic in terms of contextual detail, namely relating theorisation on diversity to history and geography (see, for example, Harrison and Klein, 2007). Ignoring history and geography in building diversity theory bodes ill for understanding issues pertaining to diversity management in other contexts, that is, places and times that fall outside the mainstream focus in this field of study (Özbilgin, 2009; Syed and Özbilgin, 2009). Even studies of global diversity management remain silent about the Asian context and its unique requirements for the sake of conceptual clarity (Nishii and Özbilgin, 2007).

Final consonants and glottalization: new perspectives from Hanoi Vietnamese

by Alexis Michaud

A. Michaud (2004), «Final consonants and glottalization: new perspectives from Hanoi Vietnamese», Phonetica, 61(2-3), pp. 119-146.

The evolution from final obstruents to final glottal stop and then to rhyme glottalization (i.e. from /at/ to /aʔ/,... more The evolution from final obstruents to final glottal stop and then to rhyme glottalization (i.e. from /at/ to /aʔ/, then to /aˀ/) is a well-established general trend in the history of the Sino-Tibetan language family and beyond. It has further been shown by laryngoscopy that in three languages which retain the non-released syllable-final obstruents /p/, /t/ and /k/ (Standard Thai, and two Chinese dialects), these obstruents are often accompanied by a glottal stop. The present research raises the issue whether there is another typological possibility: can non-released final obstruents be accompanied consistently by modal phonation, without glottal stop? Analysis of electroglottographic recordings of 126 syllables in two carrier sentences spoken by four speakers shows that, in Hanoi Vietnamese, the final obstruents /p/, /t/ and /k/ are not accompanied by glottalization, and that the open quotient increases in the course of the syllable rhyme. Obstruent-final rhymes (which may carry either of two tones: D1 or D2) are compared with nasal-final rhymes which, under one of the tones (tone B2), are confirmed to be glottalized. Our finding is that tones D1 and D2 (i.e. obstruent-final rhymes) are both produced in modal voice, which shows that the typological paradigm of observed realizations of syllable-final obstruents must be enlarged. The discussion puts forward the hypothesis that the unusual association of segments and voice quality found in Hanoi Vietnamese is a strategy to maintain the opposition between B2-tone and D2-tone rhymes.