Regional Governance in East Asia and the Asia-Pacific

This article examines the emergence of and relationships between Track 1 and Track 2 arrangements in East Asia and the Asia-Pacific. It argues that the emerging complex webs of institutional arrangements in East Asia and the Asia-Pacific exhibit a multi-layered structure of governance in which public and private actors are increasingly connected, but hierarchically organized. It also suggests that the coexistence of multiple governance mechanisms with overlapping but different memberships at both Track 1 and Track 2 levels signals difficulty in their attempts to enhance the overall efficacy of the governance mechanism.     

In Search of Regional Governance in East Asia: Processes and Outcomes

Abstract

This article employs the concept of ‘regional governance’ to analyze both the processes and outcomes of the emerging regional institutional arrangements in East Asia. It argues that while ASEAN has played a significant role in creating and sustaining the ‘processes’ of wider East Asian regional governance efforts, the level of achievement in translating these processes into tangible ‘outcomes’ remains severely constrained by great power rivalry, especially between Japan and China. By focusing on the areas of trade and finance, this article argues that the varying levels of outcomes between these two issue areas can be explained primarily by the degree of convergence between Japanese and Chinese interests. In particular, while Japan and China have a shared interest in contributing to the promotion of regional financial stability, they strongly disagree over the appropriate form and contours of a trade governance system.