The Rise and Fall of the Asian Wav Debate?: Clash. Convergence. and Social Values T.K. Rousseau Submitted in Partial Hlfilment O
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The Rise and Fall of the Asian Wav Debate?: Clash. Convergence. and Social Values by T.K. Rousseau Submitted in partial hlfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Dalhousie University Halifax, Nova Scotia August 1999 Q Copyright by T.K.Rousseau, 1999 National Library Bibliothéque nationale du Canada Acquisitions and Acquisitions et Bibliog raphic Services services bibliographiques 395 Wellington Street 395. rue Weilington OtlawaON KlAON4 OnawaON KIAW canada Canada The author has granted a non- L'auteur a accordé une licence non exclusive licence allowing the exclusive permettant a la National Library of Canada to Bibliothèque nationale du Canada de reproduce, loan, distribute or seil reproduire, prêter, distribuer ou copies of this thesis in microfoxm, vendre des copies de cette thèse sous paper or electronic formats. la forme de microfiche/nlm, de reproduction sur papier ou sur format électronique. The author retains ownenhip of the L'auteur consexve la propriété du copyright in this thesis. Neither the droit d'auteur qui protège cette thèse. thesis nor substantial extracts fiom it Ni la thèse ni des extraits substantiels may be printed or othenwise de celle-ci ne doivent être imprimés reproduced without the author's ou autrement reproduits sans son permission. autorisation. Table of Contents Abstract.. ................................................................................................................ Pagev List of Abbreviations.. .............................................................................................. .Page vi .. Acknowledgements. ................................................................................................. Page vil Introduction: The Misunderstood Miracle.. ............................................................... Page 1 Chapter One: A Question of Clash Literatures of Confrontation.. .................................................................................. ..Page 4 1 Chapter Two: Confucianism and The Asian Way Debate The Mandate of Heaven ............................................................................................ Page 97 Chapter Three: The Success of 'Asian' Success The Asian Way Debate and Economic Growth.. ................................................... Page 129 C hapter Four: Peacefiil Under Heaven State, Society, and the 'Asian Way' ........................................................................ Page 168 Chapter Five: The Bangkok Conference and the Asian Way Debate Actors and Issues.. ........................................................................................... Page203 Condusion: Clash or Convergence? Rudyard Kipling's Fallacies and The Future of the Asian Way Debate ...................................................................... Page 247 . Bibliography ........................................................................................................... Page 292 Abstract The end of the 1990s is a pivotal time to examine and reassess the controversy concerning 'Asian values', or the Asian Way debate. The heart of this debate -- played out in influential joumals, the international media, and numerous academics and policy circles - is the idea of a uniquely 'Asian' path to economic, political, and social Iife: rooted in regional cultures. Asian Way perspectives propose a set of cultural values based on discipline, cohesion, social order, group- and farnily-orientation, and respect for authority; these values are said to have contributed to stable political systems and economic growth. However, economic and politicai crises in the Asia-Pacific at the end of the decade have revealed that many observers misinterpreted complex and varied conditions in the region, and the stylized Asian Way debate has only encouraged this. Moreover. this misapprehension is al1 the more senous, aven that the 'Rising East' is but one stereotyped image in a larger pattern. Since global observers have corne to new conclusions - notably, that the region is characterized by corruption and crony capitalkm - and have initiated potentialiy harmful policies, like structural adjustment, based on those conclusions, ending this cycle of misunderstanding is a pressing task. Hence, critiques of Asian Way perspectives that quickly dismiss the debate are insufficient: to help end this pattern, the shortcomings of the debate's themes must be closely examined and assessed. From this, analytical proposals for alternate ways of approaching 'Asian' societies can be drawn; such proposals are a crucial and concrete way of challenging ideas of ancient animosities, clashing civilizations, and monolithic actors. The Asian Way debate has been framed by larger themes of global clash, stressing inevitable confrontation and conflict between civilizations. This clash literature must be understood within a context of global political and economic changes: since the end of the Cold War, there has been much emphasis on new threats and enemies to the industrialized countries, the United States in particular. The notion of a 'Rising East', imbued with a mystified and reified culture, has provided one of several possible cornpetitors for the 'West'. Within this context, weaknesses of the Asian Way debate reveal the limitations of 'Asian' CU Itural approaches, 'East-West' clash, and monolithic state and non-state actors. The static, anti-democratic portrayal of Confùcianism has not addressed issues of social change; nor have arguments for the cultural roots of economic success dealt with diversity among regional govemments or structural expianations for prosperity. Moreover, the description of 'Asian' state and non-state actors as monolithic and adversarial fails to explain the variegation among groups - cenain non-state anors in societies Iike the Philippines, for example, even appeal to selected Asian Way themes on their own terms. A case like the 1993 Bangkok Conference fùrther reveals the inadequacy of concepts like clash and homogeneity within the Asian Way debate; at the conference, both state and non-state responses were varied, and in some regards, even shared some common ground. Ultimately, the Asian Way case shows that analysis of the Asia-Pacific must be approached differently : it must stress differentiation among actors, the impact of the global environment, the ongoing processes of social change, and the more specific examination of particular cultural traditions. Even if changes in the region at the end of the 1990s signal an end to the Asian Way debate, an enduring lesson of the discussions is that 'civilizations' are not clashing; rather, societies are increasingly overlapping. List of Abbreviations AFTA ASEAN Free Trade Area APEC Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation ASEAN Association of Southeast Asian Nations GATT General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade E -4EC East Asian Economic Caucus EU European Union GDP Gross Domestic Product HPAE High Performing Asian Economy rMF International Monetary Fund rNG0 International Non-Governmental Organization fPE International Potiticai Economy IR International Relations hm Most Favoured Nation NMTA North America Free Trade Agreement NGO Non-Govemmental Organization NIC Newly hdustrialized Country NIE Newly Industrialized Economy NIDL New International Division of Labour NIDP New International Division of Power NIE0 New International Economic Order NO New World Order m United Nations mm' United Nations Development Program UNICEF United Nations Children's Fund WTO World Trade Organization Acknowledpements 1 would like to thank my thesis supervisor, David Black, for bis considerable role in the completion of this thesis; his patience and good humour helped the process immensely. 1 would aiso iike to thank my cornmittee members, Tim Shaw and Katherine Fierlbeck, for their input. Likewise, the extemal examiner, Richard Stubbs, and the Graduate Coordinator, Bob Finbow, added greatly to the process through their participation in the defence. 1 must also acknowledge the faculty of the Political Science Department, as weli as those comected with the Centre for Foreign Policy Studies. My fellow graduate students were always a fine source of inspiration and weIcome distraction, and 1 am genuinely gratefiil to ail of them. This work could not have been undertaken without the fùnding of the Faculty of Graduate Studies and the Killam Scholarship program; likewise, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada permitted me to pursue my project. Funding from the Canada-ASEAN Centre at York University also allowed me to conduct field research in the Philippines. Finally, ny deepest thanks go to Eric Wagner, for his editorial assistance and unwavering encouragement. My work is al1 the richer for his assistance - not to mention his dedicated dnving skills. vii The Rise and Fall of the Asian Win, Debate?: Clash, Converpence, and Social Vdues Introduction: neMisunderstood Mirucle The backdrop for the Asian Way debate has hndamentally changed by the end of the 1990s. indeed, it may be more accurate and more illurninating to speak of the decline of the Asian Way debate, or even its demise. The Asia-PaciEc may have experienced unprecedented growth among developing regions between the 1960s and 1990s, but as it enters the 2 lStcentury, societies in the geographic region have been hit by a procession of serious economic blows, referred to as the Asian crisis. Despite the fact that the term 'Asian crisis' is misleading in many respects - suggesting that the events affected the geographic