Europe and the Asia-Pacific: culture, identity and representations of region

Abstract

Issues of culture and identity have been prominent themes in social and political enquiry over the last decade or so. They have become just as conspicuous in political debates outside the academy as well. This has been especially evident in the Asia-Pacific region, especially with respect to relations with Europe and, more generally, ‘the West’. For much of the 1990s, the ‘Asian values’ debate held sway as the major discourse surrounding key developments in the region. From normative issues such as democracy and human rights, to the analysis of the world of business and finance, Asian ‘culture’ – and therefore values – has been regarded as a major factor in defining the region and its identity. These definitions of region, moreover, have usually taken ‘the West’ as the major point of contrast. This paper provides a conceptual overview of some of the issues involved in the politics of cultural representation, highlighting the fact that gross exercizes in stereotyping, including self-stereotyping, have plagued many discussions of regionalism and inter-regional relations. It will be argued that social scientists have made their own distinctive contributions to these stereotypes with some promoting theories of relativism and determinism on the one hand, and others resorting to a dogmatic universalism on the other. Both ways of thinking appeal because they present simplifications of a rather messy world and for that reason, among others, are likely to remain attractive to many scholars as well as politicians and policy makers. Show more