Stanford University

Does South Asia Exist? Prospects for Regionalism in South Asia

Shorenstein APARC, in collaboration with India's Observer Research Foundation, will hold a conference on regionalism and regional integration in South Asia at Stanford University. This is the third in a series of academic conferences on regionalism organized by Shorenstein APARC, following earlier conferences on regionalism in Northeast and Southeast Asia. The conferences have yielded important edited volumes, published in association with The Brookings Institution press. The conference papers from this conference as well will be issued as an edited volume in that same series.

Globally, the trend towards regional integration and the rise of regional institutions as actors in the international system has been on the rise. The paradigm for transnational regionalism is the European Union but we have also seen a growing role for regional organizations in Latin America, in Central Asia and even in North America. In Asia, there is increasing interest in the creation of an East Asian Community, driven in large part by the rise of intra-Asian trade and investment, propelled by China. Regionalism has been on the agenda in South Asia since the establishment of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) in 1985. Yet the progress toward regional cooperation and integration in South Asia has been very slow. However the dynamic growth of the Indian economy may be giving a new impetus to regionalism, driven by forces of business and the market.

This conference will examine the prospects for regionalism in South Asia, looking at the factors that drive greater regional integration and the obstacles to regionalism. It will place South Asia in the comparative framework, examining how South Asia compares to other experiences globally, including in Asia and Europe. The conference will explore the different perspectives on regionalism from within South Asia. It will focus on the role of India, as the largest power in the region and look at how much India drives or blocks greater regionalism. And finally, the participants will examine the interests of other powers in South Asian regionalism.

Funding for this conference was provided by the Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center, The Observer Research Foundation, Jet Airways, Mr. Kanwal Rekhi, insure1234.com, and G1G.com.

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South Asia Initiative

Shorenstein APARC Studies with Stanford University Press

Shorenstein APARC and and Stanford University Press jointly produce a series of books titled “Studies of the Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center.” Designed to spotlight Shorenstein APARC’s cutting-edge research, the series features the varied work of the center’s faculty, researchers, and fellows, and the unique interdisciplinary perspective that informs it. Former Shorenstein APARC director Andrew Walder, who edits the series, notes, “We are delighted with this series with Stanford University Press, which has a large and distinguished list of books on modern East Asia.

The Political Economy of Successful Reform: Asian Stratagems

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Major economic reforms are often politically difficult, causing pain to voters and provoking unrest. They may be opposed by politicians with short time horizons. They may collide with the established ideology and an entrenched ruling party. They may be resisted by bureaucrats and by vested interests. Obstacles to major economic reform can be daunting in democratic and autocratic polities alike.

And yet, somehow, past leaders of today's Asian dragons did implement vital economic reforms. The paper recounts the political maneuvers used by leaders of economic reform in Asia during these pivotal eras: China under Deng Xiaoping; India in the 1990s; Thailand under General Prem Tinsulanonda; Vietnam's Doi Moi; South Korea under Park Chung Hee; and Singapore under Lee Kuan Yew.

The last part of the paper classifies these maneuvers as responses to the main political barriers to reform. It serves as a "playbook" of tactics for economic reformers. For example, to overcome ideological baggage, the reformers packaged reforms as means to strengthen the party in power. They reformed gradually, initially seeking win-win compromises. They blessed pro-market violations as pilot projects. They even created new provinces to dilute the anti-reform vote.

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Publication Type
Working Papers
Publication Date
Journal Publisher
Stanford Center for International Development
Authors
Dennis Arroyo

Political Change in China: Comparisons with Taiwan

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How might China become a democracy? And what lessons, if any, might Taiwan's experience of democratization hold for China's future? The authors of this volume consider these questions, both through comparisons of Taiwan's historical experience with the current period of economic and social change in the PRC, and through more focused analysis of China's current, and possible future, politics.This volume explores current, and possible future, political change in China in the context of Taiwan's experience of democratization.

Table of Contents

  • Comparing and Rethinking Political Change in China and Taiwan - B. Gilley.
  • Civil Society and the State. The Evolution of Political Values - Y.H. Chu.
  • Intellectual Pluralism and Dissent - M. Goldman and A. Esarey.
  • Religion and the Emergence of Civil Society - R. Madsen.
  • Business Groups: For or Against the Regime? - D.J. Solinger.
  • Regime Responses. Responsive Authoritarianism - R.P. Weller.
  • Developing the Rule of Law - R. Peerenboom and W. Chen.
  • Competitive Elections - T.J. Cheng and G. Lin.
  • International Pressures and Domestic Pushback - J. deLisle.
  • Looking Forward. Taiwan's Democratic Transition: A Model for China? - B. Gilley.
  • Why China's Democratic Transition Will Differ from Taiwan's - L. Diamond.

Author's Biography
Bruce Gilley is assistant professor of political studies at Queen's University in Canada. His numerous publications include China's Democratic Future, Model Rebels: The Rise and Fall of China's Richest Village, and Tiger on the Brink: Jiang Zemin and China's New Elite. Larry Diamond is senior fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies and also at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University, and founding coeditor of the Journal of Democracy. Most recent of his many works on democracy and democratization are Developing Democracy: Toward Consolidation and Promoting Democracy in the 1990s.

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Publication Type
Books
Publication Date
Journal Publisher
Lynne Rienner Publishers
Authors
Number
1588265935
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