Regionalism in Asia : critical issues in modern politics

Volume III : Regionel order and Architecture in Asia

Especially since the end of the Cold War, research on and around the international relations of Asia has grown exponentially and, to make sense of what is now a vast and unwieldly corpus of scholarly literature, this new four-volume collection from Routledge’s Critical Issues in Modern Politics series brings together the best and most influential work in the field.It is destined to be valued by scholars, students, and researchers of Asian international relations, politics, history, and current affairs as a vital resource.
A key feature of regionalism in Asia has been the rise of non-governmental networks comprising research communities and/or civil society groups an interesting development in a region that has long regarded regional diplomacy and security as the exclusive preserves of national governments. While some observers affirm the alternative policy contributions of these non-official actors, whose involvement in the regional polity arguably facil itates a growing participatory regionalism, others, however, see their efforts as collusive with regard to the ostensibly illiberal regionalism of Asia. That said, all acknowledge the intricate symbiosis between the governmental/ official 'track', on the one hand, and its non-governmental/non-official other. The aim of this present volume is to provide a sense of the challenges and prospects for non-official diplomacy and activism in the region.