Abstract This paper explains that Asia-Pacific has become a region of hothouse growth, outpacing for the past decade both North America and the Euro Zone in the production of goods and services. It points out that with the march of some Asia-Pacific countries into the ranks of advanced economies and abundant signs that the others lagging behind are soon expected to follow, consumer spending is on the upswing. This paper further explains that due to multi-national level investments, the human resource departments have great challenges when dealing with cross-continent cultural barriers. This paper uses the case study of an Australian-based multinational corporation to understand these issues further.
From the Paper "Actually, the vast investment and business opportunities offered by Asia-Pacific to foreign entities have always been there. But many were initially discouraged by the generally enigmatic character of this combined market. MNCs, for example, used to find the Japanese market inhospitable, even impenetrable. As for China, the previous attitude of Saudi Arabia towards that country tells the whole story. Until the 1980s, observed the Brooking Institution in Washington, Saudi Arabia was loathe to sell oil to China because of perceptions that it was a godless, revolutionary threat. Now, foreign investors and MNCs tread into the markets of all the Asia-Pacific countries on a welcome mat, such that the region has outflanked even EU as host to the most number of MNCs . But it would seem that MNCs have to sweat it out first to make their standard management and employment practices work in this region of widely divergent cultures."
Abstract The essay is a systematic synthesis of the literature on economic history and political science that explains the East Asian miracle. It argues that state intervention has been a fundamental tenet of the great transformation of societies and economies in the East and Southeast Asian countries. The paper takes several case studies in East and Southeast Asia in comparative perspective to show the similarities and differences of the development experiences in the region.
Table of Contents:
Introduction
Context Setting: AsiaPacific in Global and Regional Perspectives
The East Asian Miracle in Theoretical Perspectives: Market-friendly and Developmental State Explanations
Relevant Themes on the East Asian Economic Miracle: Agricultural transformations in East Asia and the role of industrial policy in AsiaPacific Agricultural Transformation in East Asian Countries
The State and Industrial Policy: Comparing East and Southeast Asia Conclusions
Appendix
From the Paper "The Asia Pacific has been the most dynamic region in the world with countries sustaining growth rates from 3 - 7% for decades, reducing absolute and relative poverty, and undergoing structural changes in demographic, economic and political terms. While area specialists do not claim a single model to be followed by the developing world, it is worthy to study the common conditions, policy choices, and challenges that these countries have faced. The East Asian Miracle indeed challenges scholars and policy makers to think beyond the standard Western model of development based on blind liberalization, deregulation, and privatization. Bearing in mind the nuances and commonalities across the region, there are lessons to be drawn if only to better understand the trajectory the region is currently taking."
Abstract The paper maintains that managed economic interdependence will and could lead to security in the Asia-Pacific region, now with rising political instability. The paper stresses that the process is different than in the European Union. The paper provides the definition of interdependence and its counter theory leading to the trade expectation theory and its weaknesses. The paper concludes with a political and economic overview of the Asia-Pacific countries and some suggestions for the future.
From the Paper "The definition of the term "interdependence" is in reality a combination of two words. Dependence meaning relying on something or someone and inter a Latin word for between. Taken in an economic context, the significance is apparent - the world we live in today is based on a successful application of the true meaning of this word - how we depend, rely on one another, in other words, how we trade. The hypothesis of my paper will be to prove how managed economic interdependence will lead to security with the accent on the Asia-Pacific region."
Abstract The paper discusses the economic development of the Asia-Pacific region and focuses on Japan, China and the United States. The paper shows how the world has changed since the fall of communism and the ensuing political reorganization of the world. The paper describes the multi polar environment today in which economic, political and security affairs are discussed at the highest level and among the most important leaders. The paper looks at the Asia-Pacific Economic Forum as an example of a tool for regional cooperation and as an example of the multi-polar world in which we live.
From the Paper "Since the end of the Cold War, there has been much discussion on the way in which the regions of the world would emerge and reconsider development. The changes which took place at the political level influenced to a large extent the way in which the world would develop from all other aspects. In this sense, the fall of communism in most countries which had been under this centralized system led to the reconsideration of the relation both in terms of political aspects as well as in economic and especially security ones. Despite the fact that the Asia-Pacific region is often viewed as an independent yet united entity, there are several actors which can be considered more important from the perspective of their regional as well as global role. Such factors include the United States, Japan, or China. Even so, states such as Australia or Russia, along with regional organizations such as ASEAN play a significant role in establishing the directions of development for the region from all points of view."
Tags: Japan, China, United, States, globalization, World, Trade, Organization
A study of the preconditions and policies required for economic growth and why some Asia-Pacific countries have failed to achieve sustainable long-term growth.
Abstract A study into why certain Asia-Pacific countries such as Cambodia fail to reach long-term economic growth and an explanation of the conditions and policies needed in an economic climate to achieve this growth.
The paper covers the following topics:
Preconditions for faster economic growth
Policies for faster economic growth
AsiaPacific LDCs (Least Developed Countries) & Cambodia
The paper is filled with examples and recent statistics of countries including USA, Australia, Taiwan, Europe, Japan, Cambodia, and Asia-Pacific LDCs in general.
From the Paper "According to McTaggart et al, there are several pre-conditions for economic growth. One of which is the existence of an institutional framework that is crucial to the creation of incentives. This institutional framework included markets (supply and demand), property rights, facilities for monetary exchange, as well as simple and transparent regulatory systems (1999: 32.7). Market prices send signals to buys and sellers that create incentives to increase or decrease the quantities demanded and supplied. Markets also enable people to specialise and trade and to save and invest. Property rights are the social arrangements that govern the ownership, use and disposal of factors of production and goods and services (McTaggart et al, 1999:32.17). They include the rights to physical property, to financial property and to intellectual property. The existence of property rights and their enforcement by the law provide people with certainty in their business dealings and hence they help provide macroeconomic stability and a pre-condition for growth."
Abstract The paper explores the current issues and brings to light their implications and the outlook for regional peace and security, with particular relevance to ASEAN nations. The ASEAN nations now include Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
The paper finds that peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region is threatened by an enormous buildup of armed forces on the continent.
From the Paper "The Asia Pacific region is one of the most heavily armed regions of the world. The United States is the world's leading military superpower. China (the PRC) has had nuclear weapons since the 1960s and the largest army in the world. Japan could easily become a nuclear power and its Self-Defense forces, particularly its air force and navy, are formidable. The military presence of the Russians in the region has considerably receded since 1990, but they are a major source of high technology weaponry for the PRC. North Korea has a heavily armed standing army of over one million and is an incipient nuclear power. South Korea has strong conventional forces. Taiwan has been arming in self-defense as have the smaller ASEAN nations."
This paper provides a country by country analysis of the availability and quality of commercial infrastructure in the nations in the AsiaPacific region.
Abstract This paper provides a marketing analysis that discusses infrastructure as well as economic and social conditions - since each has a role in determining the suitability of a country in any marketing analysis process. The analysis focuses on the AsiaPacific region i.e., Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Singapore, North Korea, South Korea, Philippines, Burma, Thailand, Laos and Vietnam in particular.
From the Paper "The availability of quality of commercial infrastructure is critically important in evaluating marketing operations abroad. The existing infrastructure varies in sophistication and in areas of weakness from country to country. The dynamics of the commercial infrastructure includes more than simply the number of airports and seaports. In marketing analysis one must also consider recent economic and political events as well as the general condition of the economy."
Abstract The paper discusses how growth in the Asia-Pacific region has been explosive, largely due to the amount of foreign direct investment (FDI). The paper looks at theories of the positive and negative consequences of FDI in the growth and economic development of developing countries. The paper explains that the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of a country, especially one that is developing, is important; it helps them to receive more credit, allows them to do more with the capital that they have and ensures that their currency is more valuable. The paper points out that there should be a higher FDI in many of the developing countries and notes that China is receiving much more FDI than the other developing countries.
From the Paper "The productivity that is seen in these developing economies is highly important. Productivity is raised when FDI is involved, largely due to the fact that more people in the host country are able to get jobs. Many of these developing countries are not able to support themselves very well, and many of their people are very poor (Wakeman, 1984). When foreign investors become more involved in a country, they bring jobs, and they bring wages that are usually quite respectable for that particular country. This is a strong incentive for individuals in that country to seek employment at the new business, and therefore the people that do receive employment there will want to work very hard to ensure the safety of their jobs and to attempt to get raises and promotions (Wakeman, 1984)."
Abstract Amitave Acharya is a widely-acclaimed political thinker who specializes mostly in AsiaPacific security. Beginning with the pre-colonial era, he explores how identity can surprisingly explain much of the historical journey of both fragmentation and community-building among the diverse states in the region. The author uses the term regionalism to argue it is unlikely that the convergence of the diverse characteristics of the states in Southeast Asia may lead to a common identity , making one region of its own.
From the Paper "With these examples, Acharya successfully illustrated the extent to which "Southeast Asia" is a constructed notion, shaped by the way its actors saw the region and themselves. This then leads to his conclusion, that Southeast Asia as a region has faced many challenges and has managed to adjust its regionalism to successfully survive and even become institutionally stronger (p. 163). His constructivist approach leaves much in the hands of the actors; for the future, the region being an imagined or constructed notion can loosen or tighten according to the political will of the regional leaders. While one can agree that this can explain the prospect of ASEAN's survivability as a region, this does not explain its continued strength in facing future challenges. It will be too optimistic, if not too na?ve, to expect that the strength of political will of ASEAN leaders alone can help them in, for example, bridging and bringing peace to the relationship between North and South Korea."
Tags: indonesia, malaysia, myanmar, politics, security
Abstract This paper looks at how the U.S. plays an important role in maintaining peace and stability in the Asian-Pacific region and has successfully intervened in a number of potentially volatile security situations. It examines a number of alternative security arrangements and their viability as a regional order is explored. The first alternative arrangement is the rise of a regional hegemon to replace the U.S; the second alternative is a multi polar balance of power; and the third alternative is a mature security community. It concludes that each of the three alternatives has shortcomings, and do not compare favorably to the current regional order. Finally, the paper considers the likelihood of the U.S. leaving Asia-Pacific security to the Asians, and what impact current U.S. policies have on that prospect.
Outline:
Introduction
Meaning of the Term
What Role Does the U.S. Play?
Alternative Security Orders
Will the U.S. Leave Security to the Asians?
Conclusion
From the Paper "The U.S. has been at the apex of a unilateral international system since the end of the Cold War, and has the ability to project power across the globe. The disparity in power between the U.S. and other regional actors is enormous, especially in power projection capability, defence technologies and intelligence gathering capability. Although U.S. dominance includes economic, technological and cultural power, these serve an important function of reinforcing military power, with the U.S. able to increase military spending whilst spending a smaller percentage of its GDP. At the end of the Cold War the U.S. pursued a hegemonic strategy and entrenched its role as the guarantor of regional security. Its approach to regional security is a 'hub and spoke' arrangement and includes important bilateral security ties with Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and countries in South-East Asia. "
Abstract This paper examines the political philosophy of
pacifism which holds that the use of violence by the state, under any circumstances is unethical and counterproductive. The paper assesses whether pacifism can be effective against Nazi-like dictatorships and includes a brief examination of nonviolence, the philosophy of Gandhi and King.
From the Paper ?If we had neither weapons nor soldiers, what would we do if an enemy tried to conquer us,? asks Liane Ellison Norman in her essay, Nonviolent Civilian Defense. "What would we do if our government suspended civil liberties, imprisoned, tortured and executed people like us"? (McCarthy, ed. 189). Advocating the pacifist principle, Norman goes on to contend that the modern state does not need a conventional army to protect itself. Nonviolent defense strategy, Norman goes on to argue, provides an effective defense mechanism that surpasses that of conventional armies, the cause of so much chaos and destruction throughout history. Relying on the principle that the ?conquer is meaningless unless the conqueror is able to govern,? and evoking the beliefs and practices of Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Norman and other pacifists argue that the methods of nonviolent civil disobedience ? strikes, marches, sit-ins, etc. ? can replace modern warfare. It is therefore argued that the use of violence by the state, under any circumstances, is unethical and counterproductive."
Discusses the politicaltransformation of this republic once part of Yugoslavia. Examines its population, independence, organization, parties, leadership, elections and democracy.
1,800 words (approx. 7.2 pages), 3 sources, 1999, $ 63.95
Abstract This research paper discusses the politicaltransformation in Slovenia since the end of the Cold War and the disintegration of the former Yugoslavia in 1991. Slovenia rapidly achieved independence and established a multiparty democracy
From the Paper "POLITICAL CHANGES IN SLOVENIA SINCE 1989
Introduction
This research paper discusses the political transformation in Slovenia since the end of the Cold War and the disintegration of the former Yugoslavia in 1991. Slovenia rapidly achieved independence and established a multiparty democracy. It was able to do so largely because of its economic strength and resources, its relative ethnic homogeneity and its distance from the major wars that have devastated the former Yugoslavia. Free and fair elections have been held. Its politics since the Cold War have been dominated by a left-of-center coalition of social democratic parties, but, recently, its coalition government has included center-right and rightist parties, following the resurgence of rightist sentiment in the mid-1990s. Although Slovenia has had ..."
Abstract This paper argues that the most significant conflict in recent times over a major ideal was the Korean War. It suggests that the ideology of communism versus democracy was responsible for the rise of the developmental state and the economic Asian "miracle," which led to the conflict of the East Asian financial debacle of 1997-1998.
From the Paper "Consistent with the Japanese model, in South Korea, the industrialization that spurred such "breakneck economic growth" (Sang-Hun 2005) in one generation from 1960-1994 "was driven by government initiatives rather than market forces [as a] planed economy" (Hasung 2006). In South Korea large financial conglomerates, family-owned and operated chaebols, backed by the government were key players in this drive to lift Korea from poverty to power by developing Korean industries where capital markets were not yet established and competition in domestic markets was low. CFOs like Daewoo's Kim Woo Choong was committed to building a Korean industrial empire and mandated by President Park Chung to do so. The incessant amassing of wealth, popularly patriotic, was the general consensus invigorating that generation and sustaining the chaebols system."
This paper explores the dynamics of a U.S.-Japan security alliance in the Asia-Pacific where America's national interests would be preserved in tandem with the emerging global order.
Abstract The paper discusses the factors that govern the present and likely future dynamics affecting the Asia-Pacific region. The paper relates the history of America's relationship with Japan, the rise of China, the North Korean military threat, the global war on terror, piracy and the potential melting of the Arctic ocean. The paper considers a range of policy options that will ensure the Asia-Pacific security framework is maintained. The paper includes several maps and an interview with a professor.
Outline:
Historical Perspective
The China Factor
The North Korean Conundrum
The Global War on Terror
Piracy and SLOC Security
The Polar Great Game
A Concert of Democracies
Policy Options for U.S.-Japan Security Alliance in the AsiaPacific
From the Paper "America has shared a bittersweet relationship with Japan since the colonial days. "In 1853, Commodore Matthew Perry aboard the battleship Mississippi arrived in Uraga, Edo Bay, demanding the opening of trade." The symbolism of the incident was not lost on the Japanese who had taken note of the carving up of China into 'Spheres of Influence' by the colonial powers and decided to sign a Treaty of Peace and Amity with the United States and then with other Western powers. Thus, an uneasy peace prevailed which continued until the U.S. declared an economic boycott of Japan in the 1930s to protect its interests in China "leading to Pearl harbor" . Japan's defeat in the Second World War led to its reinvention in the American mold with a pacifist constitution, 'Made in America' with strict stipulations on its adherence. According to the basic principles of that constitution, Japan fore swore resort to war, gave up the right to have armed forces and agreed to follow the tenets of peaceful existence in exchange for a security guarantee by the United States."
