Asia-Only versus Asia-Pacific Regionalism: The Regionalism Cycle in Summits and Financial Cooperation

Abstract

While many believe that Asian regionalism lacks institutions, Asia, in fact, is home to a wide range of regional institutions and frameworks. The rise and fall of regional institutions in Asia is an extremely dynamic process. This paper argues that the dynamic nature of Asian regionalism can be explained by a “regionalism cycle” with regard to membership. The institutional outcomes of regionalism in Asia have been cyclical because the interplay between Japan and the USA has not had a stable equilibrium. This paper tests the hypothesized regionalism cycle using actual cases of regional institutions in the areas of financial cooperation and summit meetings.