| Publication |
2008.
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| Summary/Abstract |
This article examines the current state of East Asia's regional architecture with a focus on efforts to construct an East Asian Economic Community (EAEC). First, the article considers trends in regional cooperation and assesses the elements which constitute an EAEC and which distinguish it from other forms of regional cooperation. Second, it analyzes the different forms an EAEC might take, and their respective plausibility, and then sets the putative EAEC alongside APEC to consider how it might profitably learn from and relate to this already existing regional organization. The article argues that the revival of East Asian regionalism is driven by efforts to manage the economic and political consequences of globalization. There is a genuine desire in the region for increased economic cooperation and a belief that institutionalized cooperation can bring payoffs although this is not matched by a consensus on how to achieve this end. While unlikely to emerge in the next five years, the article argues that, due to changing political and economic circumstances, and particularly China's interest in regional institutions, there is reason to be cautiously optimistic about the chances of an EAEC over the medium to longer term.
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