East Asian Financial Regionalism and the Renegotiation of Global Economic Order

Abstract

From 2008, when the challenges to the western-led global economic order came to a head in the global financial and European sovereign debt crises, many observers have sought alternatives, inspiration and even culpability in regional forms of economic cooperation and governance. Given its economic dynamism, East Asia is a natural focus in such efforts. This paper explores the relationship between intensifying economic regionalism in East Asia and ongoing alterations and renegotiations of global economic governance. To help set the context for the larger project promoting a dialogue between East Asian and European perspectives on contemporary economic governance, this paper tackles three issues. First, what is the nature of regional economic cooperation in East Asia? What is the connection between regionalisation and regionalism here? Second, what are the intra-regional dynamics that help to explain the nature of financial regionalism in East Asia? Finally, what effects does East Asian financial regionalism have on the changing global economic order? Do developing forms of economic governance at this regional level contribute to global governance, or do the former pose a challenge to undermine the latter? Show more