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The theoretical contribution of this study is the analysis of earlier not examined aspects of cultural cooperation and the ASEAN angle. The original contribution is the empirical data obtained from various field trips and numerous interviews with a variety of actors from Track 1, 1,5, 2 and 3.
1.1.4. Organization of the dissertation
This study is divided into three parts. The first part, composed of chapter one and two, is dedicated to the structural dimension of the research. Chapter one outlines the background of the problem and the research puzzle, explains the motivation of studying the issues and identifies the contribution of this study. It then, offers a comprehensive literature review, recognizing the existing studies and grouping them into theoretical and thematic clusters. The literature review serves the understanding of the phenomena studies but also to identify the gaps in the existing studies and pinpoints this dissertation’s innovative contribution. The second chapter presents the research design. It offers a conceptualization of the examined cases, presenting a thorough explanation of multi-framework of analysis. Research questions, working hypotheses and methodology applied are explained next to the elaboration of the concepts adopted in the levels of analysis.
The second section, composed of chapters three, four and five, gives a thorough explanation on the historical as well as the current development of ASEM and ASEAN. This part serves as contextualization of the research, showcasing the changes that this research tracks. It combines literature review and policy tracing to understand the transformation of the institutions.
Such analysis also allows me to analyze the objectives and motivations of actors involved.
Chapter three offers historical background and the development leading to the establishment of the Asia-Europe Meeting. It explains external factors of world order affecting Asian and European regional processes separately and forming the inter-regional relations collectively.
Chapter four continues on the nature of regional institutions, particularly focusing on the characteristics of ASEAN and the EU political norms. This chapter examines the institutional
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differences leading to cooperation difficulties. Cooperation cultures and political identities are consequences of this discussion. The bottom line of this analysis is the function of interaction and socialization that allows not only better understanding of each other but also oneself. Hence, the argumentation about the identity formation based on the notion of cognitive learning that is predominant to this dissertation.
While chapter four focuses on the leadership levels, the following chapter five discusses such interaction and socialization on the people’s levels. By analyzing the Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF) which acts as a bridge between the ASEM governments and their peoples, this chapter explains what is done on the “bottom” level. Focusing on the examples of cultural and educational exchanges, this chapter looks at the engagement of civil society in the inter-regional process. This chapter has two level of analysis – at first one it looks at participatory of civil society and democratization of the ASEM process, and hence also socialization of certain norms between Asia and Europe. On the second level it looks at “democratization” of ASEM by examining its relations with ASEF. All of this discussion follows the paradigm of interaction and communication of priorities, which are dictated by the norms.
The third part, composed of chapter six and seven, analyzes the changes that have occurred within Asia and in Asia-Europe relations. The purpose of this section is to evaluate the Asia-Europe Meeting during its almost two decades of existence. Unlike the existing literature that focuses on the first phase of ASEM or on criticism after the Asian Financial Crisis, this research contributes an evaluation perspective of change. The changes also have taken place on the levels of members of ASEM, and this study argues that they affect significantly the ASEM as the organization as well.
Chapter six looks at the transformation of ASEAN as the agent of change in ASEM process. It analyses the position and role of ASEAN from the establishment of ASEM until the recent change of balance due to the EU’s crisis. In this part, I analyze the context change putting emphasis on the ASEAN’s role, as well as the context of global balance of power arguing why the ASEM has lost its original legitimation of existence.
Chapter seven offers a comprehensive evaluation of ASEM process in terms of political, economic and cultural values that it has brought to regional and inter-regional developments.
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This chapter also looks at the enlargement of ASEM as posing challenges and redefining the purpose of the organization. It is a finalizing analysis chapter in which I evaluate the meaning of ASEM on two levels: 1) regional-governmental: ASEAN as an Asian regional entity, and 2) on the civil society level.
The final chapter eight offers a conclusion of previous analyses bringing together different levels of analysis and offering an answer to the research questions posed and suggests several recommendations.
1.2. Literature review 1.2.1. Inter-regionalism
Traditional International Relations literature views regionalism and inter-regionalism in various perspectives that rarely included extensive explanation or even an inclusion of concepts of perception, cognition and identity. Only a number of authors, including Peter Katzenstein, Alexander Wendt and Amitav Acharya, touched upon these notions.
The Asia-Europe relations is often analysed from inter-regionalism theory. Inter-regionalism is a studies area within International Relations that underlines the interaction between regions. Inter-regionalism, developed after 1960s, is the second wave of regional institution-building, also called “new regionalism”. Inter-regionalism emerged “as a post-Cold
War product and entails the encounter of two regions as distinct and equal actors in a dialogue going beyond trade, economy and including political, security-related, and cultural issues”
2In the context of Asia-Europe inter-regionalism, the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) is a profound representation of this form of group-to-group dialogue. ASEM is a unique forum for interregional dialogue, integrating the “Asian way” of informality and in the same time the European spirit of formalization and institutionalization. ASEM represents new inter-regionalism that is comprehensive and multi-sectoral, basing on the three main pillars; trade and investment,
2 Bart Geans, "Pitfalls and Potential of Region-to-Region Interaction in the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM)," in ISA Conference, EU’s Relations with Asia: Assessing Past Perspectives and Defining New Directions (New York2009).
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politics and security as well as socio-cultural and environmental cooperation. It is based on a low level of institutionalization, usually at the ministerial, ambassadorial and senior officials’ levels, supplemented by ad hoc experts’ working groups.
Inter-regionalism refers to processes of cooperation between regions that are initiated by governments or the bureaucracies of regional organizations. The term “inter-regional” is generic covering a broad range of phenomena. Theoretically it has been distinguished the types of relationship within inter-regionalism as “bilateral inter-regionalism”, “bi-regionalism” or “pure inter-regionalism” which all basically describe a group-to-group relationship (Gilson 2002, Hanggi 2006, Ruland 2006, Ruland, Schubert, Schucher and Storz 2008, Robles 2008). 3
Bilateral inter-regionalism, such as the ASEAN-EU relationship, can be defined as group-to-group dialogues with more or less regular meetings centring around exchanges of information and cooperation in specific policy fields. Inter-regionalism reflects that, in the view of increasing cross-border issues, regional organizations have begun to pool and share sovereignty and resources to establish direct communicative links to each other.
Inter-regionalism establishes a new layer of international relations, as it engages the non-state actors. Regional level of governance is gradually becoming preferred, or at least, encouraged forum of dialogue and response to both traditional and non-traditional security issues.
Moreover, inter-regionalism is concerned to be a new way for overcoming “discriminatory power balance”, by increasing the chances for small and medium states to influence international decision making.
Alfredo Robles’ volume on theories of inter-regionalism provides a comprehensive international relations look at the development of inter-regionalism. The authors gave an overview from regionalism to inter-regionalism analysing other trans-regional grouping than
3 Julie Gilson, "Concepts of Inter-regionalism," in Gilson Asia Meets Europe: Inter-regionalism and the Asia-Europe Meeting, ed. Julie Gilson (Northampton, MA, USA: Edward Elgar Publishing, Cheltenhan, 2002); Heiner Haggi,
"Interregionalism: as a multifaceted phenomenon: in search for a typology," in Interregionalism and International Relations, ed. Ralf Roloff and Jurgen Ruland Heiner Hanggi (New York: Routledge, 2005); Jürgen Rüland,
"Interregionalism: An Unfinished Agenda," in Interregionalism and International Relations , Asian-European relations : building blocks for global governance? , Routledge contemporary Asia series (London ; New York: Routledge, 2008); Alfredo C. Robles Jr., The Asia-Europe Meeting. The Theory and Practice of Interregionalism (New York: Routledge, 2008).
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ASEM in comparative perspective. The current state of inter-regionalism is summarized and categories in terms of the degree of institutionalization: hard and soft institutionalization, are distinguished. The mentioned literature provides a sound contribution in the theoretical categorization of functions that inter- and trans-regional forum exerts.