Vol.VIII, No. 3, May-June2011

PREVENTIVE DIPLOMACY: NO ASIAN CENTURY WITHOUT THE PAN-ASIAN INSTITUTION

3 Editor’s Note 24 : The Democratic Character Education Model?

Preventive Diplomacy: No Asian Century 33 Floating Mass and The Opportunity for the Mid-Level Parties 8 Without the pan-Asian Institution Strengthening Tolerance 36 Through School Institutions in Indonesia 19 The : Political Economic Position and Challenges for Indonesia 8 Politics and Human Rights PostScript multilateral regional settings is limited to a very few spots in the , the in spots few very a to limited is settings regional multilateral the of presence The issues. specific on accords cooperation hoc the Ad to up and arrangements, formal less through defined treaties, security non-aggression clearly enduring the from range They asymmetric. mostly and bilateral ofany are the absence structures security is Prevailing structure. multilateral glance, security/ pan-Asian first the at nearly apparent, becomes What the Asian in measures theater? building confidence– and capacity reconciliation, mechanisms, exchange fact-finding, prevention, warning/ early to comes it when disposal at are instruments what and diplomacy preventive of capacity Thus, what is the state of art of ’s security structures? What is the existing theater (implicitorexplicitstructure). power equilibriums existing and the constellations on that stress support additionalthis balance put in inevitably the will particular relations intl. of subject that means one of strength It demographic and economic in category.shift relative) or (absolute any either by weaker is periphery the when especially demographically mighty gravity centers tend to expand into their peripheries, history serves as a powerful reminder by warning us that economically or/and However, countries). two Asian just inhabiting population world total of 1/3 nearly (with nations Asian populous many of exports and reserves currency F IMC Universityof Applied SciencesKrems, Austria Prof. Dr. Anis H.Bajrektarevic, the pan-Asian Institution No Asian Century without Preventive Diplomacy: Vol. 2011 VIII,No.3,May-June rdcin n tae oue a wl a te omn foreign booming the as well as increased volumes growth, trade economic and impressive production the on based usually is of articles prophesizing the 21 full the prophesizing are articles of journals academic relevant the of many decade, a over or st as the Asian century. The argument century.The the Asian as

Politics and Human Rights 9

PostScript weltpolitik and machtpolitik century Europe. Like Asia today, it was it today, Asia Like Europe. century th and even then, they are rarely mandated with security issues in their declared scope of work. Another striking feature is that most of the existing bilateral structures have an Asian state on one side, and either peripheral or external protégé country on the other side (which makes them nearly per asymmetric). definition The examples are numerous: the , the US US – Singapore, Russia – Australia – , – Russia East Timor, – Japan, the US – North Korea, Japan S. – Malaysia, – , the US – Pakistan, China – Cambodia, the US – Saudi Arabia, Russia – , China – Burma, India – Syria, N. Korea – Pakistan, etc. Maldives, Iran – Asia today resonates Indeed, a mixed echo of the European past. It combines features of the pre-Napoleonic, post-Napoleonic and the League-of-Nations Europe. What are the useful lessons from are the European a past? few, Well, there for sure. demographic Bismarck and accommodated military the growth exponential as economic, Prussia well by skillfully architecturing as and calibrating the the complex networks of territorial expansion 19 of arrangements security bilateral of not an institutionalized security structure of Europe, but a talented leadership exercising restraint and wisdom in combination with the quick assertiveness as However, endurance. lasting the by concluded absorptions, military fast and provincial the (Bismarck), Chancellor Iron the removed Kaiser new the as soon contested establishment Prussian militant and insecure backward–minded, and (by their own interpretations of the German’s policies) Europe and the world in two devastating world wars. That, as well as Hitler’s establishment afterwards, simply did not know what to do with a powerful Germany. The aspirations and constellations powers of today Asia’s some remind of us also of the pre-Napoleonic Europe, in which a unified, universalistic block of the Holy Roman Empire was contested by the the status quo. Such serious centripetal and centrifugal oscillations of Europe impatient challengers of were not without grave deviations: as Jacobin’s France successfully much emancipated itself, as the Napoleon Cardinal III and pre- Richelieu’s and WWII France encircled, isolated itself, implicitly laying the foundation for the German attack. Finally, the existing Asian regional settings also resemble the picture of the post-Napoleonic Europe: first and foremost, of Europe between theVienna Congress of 1815 and the revolutionary year At of any 1848. rate, let us take Asia. a quick look at the most relevant regional settings in By far, the largest Asian participation is engulfing with both the sides APEC, an of organization the . Nevertheless, this is a forum for 10 Politics and Human Rights PostScript Russian rapprochement more symmetric setting. Essentially,and it induced came into existence internally through a strategic is Sino- SCO The mandate. GCC the of nature very Qatar-based and GCC-backed Al Jazeera TV network) is the best proof of the influential of role the of analysis the including and Bahrain, in troops Saudi to the spring 2011 turmoil in the (including the deployment of the balance the Iranian influence in the Gulf and wider Middle East. The response Eastern Middle theater. the It in was also government (after egalitarian the 1979 of revolution) an type instrument republican to counter-a introducing was which pan-Arabism Nasseristic leftist originally,the purpose; contain dual to a served has It monarchies. Arabian the of Arabia grouping Saudi the ally gathered East Middle key American an which by setting induced consideration. security quo status shared externally an was GCC Asymmetric a on threat, geopolitical) and (ideological external common a of pretext a on the Eastern of Conservative courts (of Metternich). Both arrangements were created Alliance its and Europe post-Napoleonic the of us remind GCC and If some of the settings are reminiscent of the pre-Napoleonic Europe, the SCO was sloweddownandsuccessfullycontainedwithintheFrenchIndochina. communism from threat imminent the as soon as dissolved essentially was which SEA for organization treaty SEATOdefense short-lived pact the with was Same Iran. a of and Korea North of policy,opposing case, security this particular in are that states peripheral of front larger the by country single a security related, but they are more an asymmetric approach to Iran-related deter and the contain and Contact (Quartet/P-5+1) group. (Nuclear) In both cases, the issues dealt with are indeed KEDO the mention should one on, Further – havingimportant Asian countriesoutsidethesystemoropposingit. systems, right after the UN), neither covers the entire Asian political landscape ple. Clearly, theonewhoholdsmonopolyoninterpretationhas theideologicalgrip,whichcan clerical question–whowouldgive theexclusiveinterpretationofholytext:RomeorConstantino Antic RomanEmpire. The monolithicblockhasentereditsfragmentation onaseeminglyrhetoric, 1 2 the (being memberships large have do entities trans-continental both Although issues. security with mandated (strictly) is multilateral bodies. However, they are inadequate forums as neither of the two the and with second first without (the a permanent NAM secretariat) represent and the OIC well-established political the settings, crosscutting other Two internet happilyeverafter…” the on shopping keep and FaceBook, to login US, the with up FTA,side the recently told me in Geneva the following: “what is your option here? ...to sign who diplomat Singapore senior one of words the ToWTO.use the for room member economies (not of sovereign nations), a sort of a prep-com or waiting

Vol. 2011 VIII,No.3,May-June Analyzing theSino-Sovietandpost-Soviet-Sinorelations temptsmetocompareitwiththe 1 (based, for the first time in modern history, on parity) nd and 3 and rd largest multilateral largest - Politics and Human Rights 11 - - PostScript - gent reshape of The Sino-Soviet schism culminated perestroika. Deng managed glasnost and perestroika. century onwards. The Western Roman Empire Western The century onwards. rd rigidly persisted to any structural change, unable to adapt. It eroded and soon thereafter vanished from rigidly persisted to any structural change, unable to adapt. It eroded and soon thereafter The Eastern Empire successfully reformed and Byzantium endured (as a viable the political map. socio-economic and political model) for another 1,000 years. Feeling the need for an ur reforms. the declining communist system, both leaders Gorbachev and contemplated Gorbachev eventually fractured the Soviet Union with and prolific comes from diplomat Brave, accurate and important argumentation China successfully. Asian Hemisphere, 2008, page 44-45). Mahbubani claims that author Kishore Mahbubani (The New “the real Gorbachev handed over the and got nothing in return, while Deng understood Tiananmen strength and power … China did not allow the students protesting in Western success of Deng drew a sharp and decisive line to avoid the fate of Russia, and allowed Square”. Consequently, . China has survived, even scoring the unprecedented prosperity in only the last two only perestroika a steep decline in the aftermath of the loss of its historic empire (includ decades. Russia has suffered moved himself Gorbachev problems). alcohol severe the as well as rates crime and suicide high the ing to the US, and one vodka brand labels his name. with the ideological and geopolitical emancipation of China (especially after the Nixon recognition with the ideological and geopolitical emancipation of China (especially after the Nixon model of the of Beijing China). Besides the ideological cleavages, the socio-economic and political Roman Empire was heavily contested from the 3 easily be translated into a strategic advantage. It was Moscow insisting that the Soviet type of commu easily be translated into a strategic advantage. great schism put to an end the lasting theologi A nism was the only true and authentic communism. cal (but also geopolitical) conflict in the antique Roman theatre. to deter external aspirants (the US, Japan, and culture socio-political Korea, present territory, India, resources, the keep to and Arabia) and Saudi political regime in the , heights and the Uighur province in line. The next to consider is the Indian sub-continent’s grouping organization SAARC. This has League the a of reminiscent strikingly is Organization the However, Secretariat. well-established mandate, well repeatedly which setup altruistic an as remembered is League The Nations. of staffed and to as well as members its of quests security the to respond versed adequately to failed the challenges and pressures of parties that were kept out of the system (e.g. the outside completely remaining US the and 1930s the into well until Russia system, and in the case of the SAARC Arabia surrounding; and China, Saudi two its of confrontation mega of hostage a practically is SAARC The US). the largest members, both confirmed nuclear powers; India and Pakistan. These two challenge each other geopolitically and ideologically (existence of one is nationhood determined religiously the other; the of existence the of negation a of Pakistan is a negation of multiethnic India and vice verse). Additionally, the SAARC although internally induced is an asymmetric is not organization. only the It size of India, but direct the also without field its any in position: operate to centrality impossible practically of SAARC that makes country consent of India (be it commerce, communication, politics or security). For a serious advancement of multilateralism, mutual trust, a will to compromise It and achieve a common denominator through active co-existence is the key. is hard to build a common course of action around the disproportionately big and centrally positioned member (which would escape the interpretation as peripheral smaller, the by center its of assertiveness or big the by containment members). 12 Politics and Human Rights PostScript ih jnosi-ond ae y h al tet bankers Street Wall the by name jingoistic-coined a with One, sharing. burden a for calls external the on based both forums, informal inaugurated recently two mention us let overview, brief this closing Before in future. forum pan-Asian wider the towards setting cumulus a as run long the in seen be could and group/s, 3+3 the for forums its open to managed has ASEAN () withthependingIndonesia (BRIICS). initially tippedBrazil,Russia,India andChina,althoughatrecentmeetingsSouth Africa wasinvited ation ofanyBRICgroupingorthe nomadicchangeofvenueplacesitsperiodicmeetings.O’Neill such tradebyexportingitshigh-prized finalproductsinreturn. cheap primarycommoditiesandundemandinglaborforce,finally suggestingtothe elaborating oncountrieswhichmayprovidethe West withthesocially, economicallyandpolitically Sachs, inhis2001documentreport:“BuildingBetterGlobalEconomic BRICs”. This documentwas 5 between theMerge Treaty andtheSingleEuropean Act. mism finallyprevails. Tentatively, wecansituatethe ASEANtoday, wherethepre-MaastrichtEUwas 4 historical, theNAM–precursor, the Asian–African ConferenceofBandung1955. 3 2 nations Asian Southeast 10 of grouping a – ASEAN an is there Finally, Map (for 2015) will absorb most of the Organization’sthe of most absorb will 2015) (for Map energy terms but also by its Thailand-Malaysia-Indonesia political leverage. The EU-like of ASEAN Community Road communication and economic in only triangle not the ASEAN of core the represents growth so-called the landmass, each other). Situated on the geographic axis of the southern flank of the Asian balancing geographically Germany-France/Britain-Italy/Poland-Spain with members placed around strongest its the geographic with center arrangement (like an symmetric in is relatively case and of It induced charter.the internally EU current equilibrium ambitious an and past dynamic a has organization headquartered Jakarta/Indonesia This, externally. and internally principle) non-interference the on (based policy multi-vector balanced the exercising problems. Appealing for the national pride, however, both informal gatherings a burden sharing), or have they helped to tackle the indigenous Asian security states either with the more leverage in the Bretton Woods institutions (besides participating Asian the provided not have G-20 and BRIC the Nevertheless, (austerity) actions introduced in the aftermath of (still unsettled) financiallarger crisis. a approval achieve and to support G–7 for the its of monetary need (currency the exchange following accord) basis and financial bono) (pro hoc Ad the on assembled also is forum, informal other the G–20, The membership. countries whose national pride and pragmatic interests Indonesia, are advocating a BRIC (Russia). peripheral Asian additional few political a one are Iran Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Turkey,Arabia, Saudi and and China), demographic and economic, (India Asian powerhouses important two includes far

Vol. 2011 VIII,No.3,May-June The acronymwasoriginallycoinedbyJimO’Neill,achiefglobaleconomistofGoldman Comparisonsposeaninaccuracyrisksashistoryoftenfindsa way torepeatitself,butopti Symbolicornot,the ASEAN HQislocatedlessthan80milesawayfromtheplaceof The membershipmightbeextendedinthefuturetoEast Timor andPapuaNewGuinea. The paperdidnotforeseeeither cre 5 BIICS so BRI(I)C/S, - 4 . However,. the West tobalance - - 2 3 ,

Politics and Human Rights 13 PostScript may divert the necessary resources and attention to Asian states from their issues. domestic, pan-continental pressing The Yet, besides the UN system machinery of the Geneva-based committee, Disarmament the UN Security Council, OPEW and IAEA, even the ASEAN Asians (as the Asians) most have multilateralized no suitable standing forum Council the to similar organization An issues. security their solve and tackle to soil. Asian on OSCE is still far from emerging of Europe or the hope: a provides also it Nevertheless, warns. history Our The in. live to place dangerous a indeed was Europe (pre-Helsinki) pre-CSCE sharp geopolitical and ideological default line was passing through the very heart of Europe, cutting (Franco) it Spain into Junta), halves. The (Colonel southern Greece Europe in was dictatorships; practically notorious by off sealed and Portugal (Salazar), with Turkey witnessing several of its toppled governments by the secular and omnipotent military establishment, with inverted Albania and a (non-Europe and of the powerful Soviets instruments of the minded) US military presence (NATO) non-allied, Tito’s Yugoslavia. Two (Warsaw pact) in systems, Europe delivery and weaponry ABC were the as well as conventional keeping of stockpiles huge standing armies, enormous practically next to each other. By far and large, European borders were of many recognize even to not rejected west the Essentially, recognized. mutually governments. the Eastern European (Soviet dominated/installed) dispute territorial no has which state single a hardly is there Asia, in Currently within its neighborhood. From the Middle East, Caspian and Central Asia, Indian sub-continent, mainland Indochina or SEA, Tibet, South China Sea and the , many countries dozen a over are for counts solely Sea China South The disputes. border blue and suffering numerous green territorial disputes – in which mostly China presses peripheries to break free from the long-lasting encirclement. These moves are often interpreted by the neighbors as dangerous assertiveness. On the top of that Sea resides a huge economy and insular territory in should a Asia legal Chinas limbo many how – on Taiwan, agreement which intl. waits and pan-Asian for the when a time have, gains a wide and lasting consensus. Unsolved territorial issues, sporadic irredentism, nuclear conventional ambitions, conflicts armament, over exploitation of biota, and access other natural to resources the marine including fresh water access posing and enormous supply stress are on external security, Additional safety stress comes and from the stability newly in emerging environmental Asia. concerns, that are representing nearly absolute security threats (not only to the tiny 14 Politics and Human Rights PostScript other each to incalculable and mysterious enigmatic, However combined). powers mega nuclear other the the all of stockpiles by the outnumbered far by marked stockpiles nuclear (whose was two War the of Cold confrontation the ideological of and geopolitical peak the known, well is As is alsotheonlycontinentonwhichnuclearweaponryhasbeendeployed. and Pakistan both confirmed nuclear powers declined to sign the Treaty). Asia India whereas 2003, in away walked Korea NPT(N. the to parties are Russia and China Only undeclared). and (declared powers nuclear known nine the numerous of Israel) and Russia and peripheral (plus four of home armies, a standing is Asia weaponry conventional of stockpiles huge holding Besides nuclear monopolyandtheyearsofRussia’s desperationtoachievetheparity. American the of age the echoes it analogies; historic the Following Asia. in constellations nuclear the of peculiarities the at look brief a take also us Let security any for today maneuver ofJapan,China,India,Pakistan,Iranandthelike. space the is as maneuver any was for Europe narrow equally post-Napoleonic as of powers major the between space the Yet, western Asian peninsula) but the interstate maneuvering space is comparable. (the Europe and Asia latter being rather of an extension of a size huge Asian continental the landmass, a sort of compare to inappropriate absolutely is It continent areportraying Asia asarealpowderkeg. 9 health. environmental needs,domesticemployment, educationalupliftofthemiddleclassandgeneralpublic in Asia andobservedelsewhere,didnotoffer ashortcuttodevelopment,evenless to socialcohesion, integration cannotbeasubstituteforanyviabledevelopmentstrategy. ,asexperienced of theirresponses,internallyorexternally. Oneiscertain; Asia understoodthattheglobal(economic) of thesevitaldebatesisgraduallyreaching Asian elites.Noonecanyetpredicttherangeandscope from thebio-centriccomprehensionintoanthropocentricenvironmental ignorance? The resonance ly misusedinEurope,ME, Asia, Americas and Africa)? Why isthe(secularorreligious)ethics turned ence.) Why isreligionturned into politicalideology(religioustextsaremisinterpretedandideological frozen andrigidlycanonizedintoadogmaticexegesis.Scientific debateisreplacedbyablindobedi old liberaltheoryof Adam Smithandover300-yearsoldphilosophyofHobbesLocke–basically, fundamental: Why isscience turned intoreligion?(Practicedeconomyisbasedontheover200-years 8 leading insuranceandreinsurancecompanies. the CRESTA reports. The CRESTA Organization ispoweredbytheSwissREasaconsortium ofthe 7 complete geographiclossofitsterritory. state territory. This eventwouldmarkaprecedentinthetheoryofintl.law–thatonecountrysuffers a 6 Tuvalu of nation Pacific parts of Thailand, of Indonesia, of Kazakhstan and of the , etc Philippines, the of and Kazakhstan of Indonesia, of Thailand, of parts All this combined with uneven economic and demographic dynamics demographic and economic uneven with combined this All

9 , the Americans and Soviets were on opposite sides of the globe, had no Vol. 2011 VIII,No.3,May-June The SovietUnionwasenvelopedinsecrecy(apoliticalculture, eminentinmanylarge The intriguingintellectualdebateiscurrentlyheatingupthewesternworld.Issuesare Detailedenvironmentalimpactriskassessments(includingtheno-gozones)areavailablein Tuvalu, acountry composedoflow-layingatollislands,facesanimminentcompleteloss 6 , but also) to the Maldives, , Cambodia, Bangladesh, Maldives, the to also) but , 8 of the of - 7 - . Politics and Human Rights 15 PostScript -

The Soviets were 1 countries, which the Soviets inherited from the Tsarist Russia and further enhanced) – a feature that Russia and further Tsarist countries, which the Soviets inherited from the Americans. It was the US cacophony of open, nearly exhibitionistic policy debates that puz puzzled zled Russians – and made both sides unable to predict the moves of the other one. Americans were confused confused by the omnipresence of overt political debate in the US, and the Americans well knew that the real power resided by the absence of any political debate in the USSR. vivid Kissinger outside the government, in the Soviet Politburo. Still, it was like a black-box (to use a inside. allegory), things were coming in and getting out, but nobody figured out what was happening a heavy-handed Once the particular decision had been taken, the Soviets implemented it persistently in policy alternation/adjustment was not coming before the personal changes the Usually, and rigid way. were at the top of the SU Politburo – events happening so seldom. On the other hand, the Soviets (for confused by the equidistant constellation of the US executive, legislative and judicial branches enforcement the Soviet taste, too often changed), the chaotic setup of dozens of intelligence and other the US agencies, the role of the media and the public, and the influential lobby groups that crosscut brokered, bipartisanism – all which participated in the decision prep and making process. Even when The US was unable to grasp where the US actions were often altered or replaced in zigzagging turns. Soviets were the Communist Party ended and the USSR government started. By the same token, the America ended and the US government started. Paradoxically unable to figure out where the corporate actions of the enough, the political culture of one prevented it from comprehending and predicting the What was the logical way for one was absolutely unthinkable and illogical for the other. other one. What eventually kept the US and the USSR from deploying nuclear weapons assurance”. destruction “mutual called: struggle costly and dangerous the was achieved parity in the number and type Already by the late 1950s, both sides of nuclear warheads as well as in the number and precision of their delivery territorial disputes, and no record of direct armed conflicts. armed conflicts. record of direct disputes, and no territorial Insofar, the Asian nuclear constellation is additionally specificthe holders ashas a each history of of hostilities – armed frictions and with combined all borders, shared confrontations the along disputes territorial unsolved over the intensive and lasting ideological rivalries. The Soviet Union transborder had armed frictions with bitter China over the demarcation of its long land border. China has fought a war with territorial India gain. India and has fought has four mutually acquired extortive wars a with Pakistan significant over Kashmir and other disputed peninsula bordering has witnessed regions. the direct military Finally, confrontations the of Japan, USSR, Korean Chinese as well as the US on its very soil, and remains a split nation under a sharp ideological divide. Russia Britain, France, neither continent, Eurasian the of edge western the On nor the US had a (recent) history of direct armed conflicts. They do not even share the land borders. only Finally, India and now post-Soviet Russia have a strict and full civilian case the In authorization. deployment nuclear the and military its over control of North Korea and China, it is in the hands of transparent communist an leadership unpredictable – and meaning, non- it resides outside democratic, governmental decision-making. In Pakistan, it is completely in the hands of a politically omnipresent military establishment. Pakistan has lived under a of its existence as an independent state. direct military rule for over half 16 Politics and Human Rights PostScript s oe, h ncer tcpls n sa r cnieal modest considerably are Asia in stockpiles nuclear the noted, As sort ofpacifyingstabilitybetweentwoconfrontingsuperpowers. in sufficient quantities and impenetrable configurations) that brought a bizarre non- intended MAD the (with its tranquilizing effect but of nuclear parity,weaponry, if intended possessed an not through was it fear–equilibrium Thus, deterrence. a hazardous the achieved have Soviets the and Americans the destruction, mutual total ensure and holocaust nuclear global final the trigger actually would but victory decisive a bring would strike nuclear preemptive One of the greatest thinkers and humanists of the 20 the of humanists and thinkers greatest the of One nuclear waristhereforeevident. to engaged adversaries. Besides a deliberate, a serious danger of an accidental time of warheads, which ultimately gives a very brief decision-making period flight shorter means powers nuclear Asian of proximities geographic Close Bandung conference. 13 ambition allovertheMiddleEast (withSaudi Arabia and Turkey astheleast shy ones). acquired somevitaldual-use(so far, peacefulpurpose)nucleartechnologies. There isaseedofnuclear ambitiously workingonthelong-rangegenerationofmissiles. At thesametime,Iranmaywellhave (hide andrelocate)launchers.Iransuccessfullytestedtheprecision ofitsmid-rangemissileandkeeps fission nuclearbombs. A halfofitisdeliverable bythemid-rangemissileJerichoII,planesandmobile 12 senior nuclearstate,hasnotmorethan20ICBM. is believedtohavesome60,andKorea(ifany, notmorethan)2-3only. Even China,consideredasthe 11 112). Spread ofNuclear Weapons: A DebateRenewed’ byScott D.SaganandKennethN Waltz, 2003,p. initial advantageisinsignificant…”…duetothesecondstrikecapability ofbothbelligerents.(‘The gain theinitialadvantageandsetcourseofwar. Nuclearweaponseliminatethispremium. The 10 one contested who superpowers the of over-extension the was Toit frank, be instructive. very is Europe Helsinki of case The disposal. at readily are tools political clear a to commitment wisdom and and accorded action. vision However, from once road it is long achieved, a the operational certainly is There second-strike capability strong a maintain to and impact first the survive amply to sites launching and systems. Both sides produced enough warheads, delivery systems’ secret depots new harmony…” wrote: andontheKoreanpeninsula,nottomentionMiddleEast a nuclear or non-nuclear state could be contemplated as decisive, especially in compromises stability and security: preventive or preemptive N–strike against capability.seriously strike fact second That the offer to enough sophisticated number of warheads, launching sites and delivery systems is not sufficient and

Vol. 2011 VIII,No.3,May-June “…man can only go forward by developing (his) reason, by finding a finding by reason, (his) developing by forward go only can “…man “The Art ofLoving”,ErichFromm,1956,page76.Fromm wroteitataboutthetimeof Israel(asanon-declarednuclearpower)isbelievedtohaveasmany as200low-powered ItisassumedthatPakistanhasasfew20combat/launchingready fissionwarheads,India As Waltz rightfullyconcludes:“Conventionalweaponsputapremiumonstrikingfirstto 13 10 . Once comprehending that neither the preventive nor th century, Erich Fromm century,Erich 11 The . 12 . Politics and Human Rights 17 - - PostScript - fering many deficiencies . 15 ; from Thailand to Korea and Japan (with Indonesia, a nation that 14 fora. By examining these two regional bodies, Asia can find and 16 The so-called OSCE–Asian Partners for Cooperation are: Japan (1992), Korea (1994), Thai The so-called OSCE–Asian Partners for Cooperation are: Japan (1992), Korea (1994), Vienna, ASEAN countries, residentially represented in It is likely to expect that five other Asia (even when being at the HQ in Jakarta), I am often asked to clarify In Europe and in

retariats of both SAARC and ASEAN. retariats of both SAARC and Any alternative to the EU is a grand accom and being far from optimized multilateral mechanisms). 15 The same move could be followed by the Sec may formalize their relation with OSCE in a due time. 16 ASEAN as well as the EU simply The ASEAN future prospects. my (overly) optimistic views on the have no alternative but to survive and turn successful (although currently suf 14 land (2000), Afghanistan (2003), Mongolia (2004) and Australia (2009). Within the OSCE quarters, Within Australia (2009). Afghanistan (2003), Mongolia (2004) and land (2000), Thailand and Japan enjoy a reputation of being very active. particularly another all over the globe, that eventually brought them it was also to a constant, resolute call of the table. European Importantly, public the negotiation that alerted governments on both sides of the default line. Once the political considerations were settled, the technicalities gained momentum: there was – at first – mutual pan-European recognition of borders which tranquilized tensions literally overnight. Politico-military cooperation was situated in the so-called first Helsinki basket, which included the joint military inspections, instruments, warning early flow, information constant mechanisms, exchange confidence–building measures mechanism, and the standing panelrepresentatives (the of state so-called Permanent Council). Further on, an important clearing house was situated in the so-called second basket – the forum that links the economic and environmental Asia issues, at items the so pressing in moment. the Admittedly, III OSCE Basket was a source of many controversies wave in new the the However, mandates. of interpretation the over mostly years, past charges emotional the communism), fading the replacing (often nationalism of and residual fears of the past, the huge ongoing formation of the middle class Asia in (whose passions and affiliations will inevitably challenge established elites domestically and question their policies internationally), and a related search for a new social consensus – all that could be successfully tackled by some sort of an Asian III basket. Clearly, further socio-economic growth in Asia is impossible without the creation and mobilization of socio-political a the strong on anew middle appearing when which society of segment a – class horizon is traditionally very exposed and vulnerable and to disruptive shifts. At political any rate, there misdeeds are several OSCE observing nations Asia from Consequently, Consequently, the largest continent should consider the creation of its own comprehensive pan-Asian multilateral mechanism. In doing so, it can surely rest on the vision and spirit of Helsinki. On the very institutional Asia setup, can closely revisit the well-envisioned SAARC and ambitiously empowered ASEAN currently considers joining the forum). They are clearly benefiting from the participation 18 Politics and Human Rights PostScript modation ofeitherFranceorGermanywithRussia–meaningareturn toEuropeofthe18 without thepan-Asianmultilateralsetting. century,no Asian is there continent; the of emancipation no is Clearly,there pan-Asian organization warnsbyitsurgency too. is…an “freedominsight into necessity that saying famous of Hegel’s Contextualizing prosperity opportunity. unparalleled the and an as itself presents arrangement pan-Asian success multilateral indigenous an Asia, unprecedented of age the In socio-political, pressing the of environmental andpolitico-militarychallenges. gravity the as well as states given of – number organization the multilateral future such of mandate (security) the of deepening and widening between balance appropriate the calibrate skillfully make meoptimisticabouttheirrespective success. both theEUandof ASEAN, itisnot(only)theinnercapacitation buttheexternalconstellationsthat – meaningfewerlarge blocksonadangerouscollisioncourse. Thus, paradoxicallyenoughin casesof be anabsorptiveaccommodation ofparticular ASEAN member statestoeitherJapanorChinaIndia early 20 th Vol. 2011 VIII,No.3,May-June centuries–namely, perpetualwarsand destructions. Any alternativetothe ASEAN would ” let me close by stating that a need for the domesticated -oooOooo- th , 19 th and