| Summary/Abstract |
Recent security challenges in East Asia have provided an opportunity to realize the
need for community building as a way of detouring military deadlock. This paper
suggests two principles of community building in East Asia: (1) identity balanced
by interest, and (2) an Asia of citizens beyond an Asia of states. These principles can
be applied to the community building sub-areas of politico–economic, security, and
sociocultural cooperation. The author examines the following topics accordingly:
(a) an invalid concept of the “Asian paradox” and the statement made by Japan’s
prime Minister Shinzo Abe in the politico–economic area; (b) the Helsinki Accord
and the EU Global strategy with their implication for East Asia in the security area;
and (c) the Campus Asia program and the Asian Human Rights Court as a means to
encourage sociocultural cooperation. With its complicated history of animosity and
low levels of intraregional trade, fostering a shared identity and finding common
interests in East Asia is no easy task. If some identities are given and others are
chosen, it is important to manage the negative effects of identity and encourage the
positive influence of its chosen dimensions.
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