| ID | 120202 |
| Title Proper | Economics and security in the Asia-Pacific region |
| Language | ENG |
| Author | Ravenhill, John |
| Publication | 2013. |
| Summary / Abstract (Note) | The relationship between economics and security remains relatively unexplored, particularly in the Asia-Pacific context. The articles in this special section of the journal seek to broaden our comprehension of various dimensions of this relationship. One focus is to understand the circumstances in which issues have come to be defined as components of national 'security'. A second is to develop a more nuanced approach to conflict, one that recognizes that interstate conflict can take numerous forms short of the outbreak of military confrontation. Our starting point is to emphasize that 'security' is a social construction: issues become 'securitized' when political actors identify them as posing a threat to national security. The redefinition of national understandings of security by state elites is one instance of how economics and security can become intertwined. Economic competition, however, can generate a second dimension to the economics-security nexus, which occurs when it spills over into the traditional security domain, that is, into military rivalries between states. Our studies provide some grounds for optimism on the relationship between economics and security - albeit one that has to be tempered both by the failure of countries in the region to develop deeply institutionalized means for dispute resolution and by the evidence that economic issues can be a significant source of both interstate and intrastate conflict. |
| `In' analytical Note | Pacific Review Vol. 26, No.1; Mar 2013: p.1-15 |
| Journal Source | Pacific Review Vol. 26, No.1; Mar 2013: p.1-15 |
| Key Words | Economics and Security ; Asia - Pacific ; Institutions ; Cooperation ; Conflict |