Comparative regionalism: The logic of governance in Europe and East Asia

Publication Type

Book Chapter

Publication Date

12-2007

Abstract

This chapter discusses the logics of regionalism in Europe and Asia, comparing European institutional governance with East Asian cultural/ethical governance. It notes that these are not antinomies: both rules and culture are used by those in power to regulate not just what people can do, but what they can be. Where Europeans and Asians differ first is in the sequencing of these alternative logics. Europeans have got themselves in a position where the ethics and culture of being ‘European’ are largely interpreted in the context of institutional conformity. Asians conversely regard institutional conformity as threatening and privilege regional arrangements that defend ethical and cultural integrity. Europe's supranational politics operate from the centre to the periphery; Asia's transnational politics operate from the periphery to the centre.

Keywords

East Asian governance, regionalism, institutional conformity, Europeans, cultural integrity, supranational politics

Discipline

Asian Studies | Political Science | Regional Economics

Research Areas

Political Science

Publication

The International Politics of EU-China Relations

Editor

David Kerr & Liu Fei

First Page

231

Last Page

258

ISBN

9780197264089

Identifier

10.5871/bacad/9780197264089.003.0013

Publisher

Oxford University Press

City or Country

Oxford

Additional URL

https://doi.org/10.5871/bacad/9780197264089.003.0013

This document is currently not available here.

Share

COinS