The Norm Dynamics of Asian Regionalism

Abstract

Whose Ideas Matter? Agency and Power in Asian Regionalism. By Amitav Acharya. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2009. 200 pp., $39.95 hardcover (ISBN-13: 978-0-80144-751-8). Given the emergence of regional security organizations throughout the world in the wake of World War II, why did one fail to take root in Asia? Moreover, why does Asian regionalism remain “soft” or lack the degree of institutionalization found elsewhere? Amitav Acharya's latest study on Asian regionalism tackles these empirical puzzles, which have significant implications for scholars who study international organizations, regional security, and Asian politics. Acharya critically engages international relations theories, particularly constructivist approaches, in arguing that the ability of the United States to create an Asian security organization after World War II was primarily hamstrung by normative opposition from Asian leaders. He further claims that early post-war interactions, while strengthening the norm of non-intervention in Asia, largely predisposed the region to a less institutionalized form of multilateralism. Acharya broadly contributes to constructivist approaches, therefore, in showing that local practices and norms matter and how they help shape the diffusion process from the global to the regional context. Acharya begins his study by examining international relations theories to explain post-war Asian regionalism. This discussion builds on his earlier pioneering work that applied constructivism …