Next generation on Asia

Abstract

This issue of the EAFQ takes the top 12 essays from a large international competition, and other invited contributions, that address the theme Asia’s economic and political challenges and how to deal with them. The authors are all rising stars and this edition of the EAFQ showcases the best from the new generation on Asia. The Asian region is diverse, dynamic and it faces immense challenges. Domestically, most countries are experiencing rapid economic, social and political change, and in the region there is a huge change taking place in the structure of power and influence. Nowhere are these changes more remarkable than in China, where the scale and pace of its growth is unprecedented in history. Managing China’s rise is a top priority for all the countries in the region. A new Japanese government is struggling to articulate its foreign policy and to position Japan between a rising China and its long-time ally, the United States, which has underpinned its security. Can Japan reinvent itself and lead regional cooperation initiatives with its neighbours in Northeast Asia and beyond in the formation of an East Asian Community? Challenges that other countries face are numerous: it is difficult to predict which in the end will be most critical to the future peace, prosperity and the stability of the East Asian region. There is the issue of breaking the deadlock in Northeast Asia around North Korea, the deepening of democratic institutions in Indonesia and how political transition can be managed in others, such as China and Burma. And there is the heightened question of US engagement with Asia—whichever way, a key to security and stability in the region. India is looking East, not just for new markets, but for lessons in opening up to investment and reaping the benefits of globalisation. There are clearly lessons from East Asia for the whole South Asian region, which lags in intra-regional integration across most dimensions. These are some of the big, long-term strategic questions that the essays from a new generation of analysts on Asia address in this issue, with a few shrewd tactical observations along the way. Show more