Regional Co-operation and Its Enemies in Northeast Asia

Examining the prospects for building a regional community in Northeast Asia, this book considers the foreign policies of the individual states as well as the impact of domestic politics on the regionalist agenda. It outlines the emerging Northeast Asian community and the domestic requisites for its evolution and realization, and puts it in context by comparing the emerging community with Southeast Asia.

The book investigates the attitudes of the key powers, including China, Japan, South Korea, North Korea, Russia and the US, towards the ideal of greater regional cooperation, with particular emphasis on the implications of domestic factors in each country for regional dynamics. It explores the North Korean nuclear crisis, the continuing tensions over the Taiwan Straits, the impact of Sino-Japanese rivalry, the shift in stance of South Korea towards North Korea since 2001 and its implications for its relationship with the US, and Putin’s attempts to strengthen Russian influence in the region. It concludes by identifying the foremost dangers that risk obstructing greater regional cooperation, particularly the China-Japan rivalry, nationalist sentiments, territorial disputes and energy competition.

Edward Friedman is Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is the co- author of Chinese Village Socialist State, and Revolution, Resistance and Reform in Village China; editor of China's Rise, Taiwan's Dilemmas and International Peace; and co-editor of Asia's Giants: Comparing India and China.

Sung Chull Kim is Associate Professor at Hiroshima Peace Institute, Hiroshima City University. He is the author of North Korea under Kim Jong Il: From Consolidation to Systemic Dissonance. He has also contributed a number of articles on political theory and North Korea in journals including Systems Research and Behavioural Science, and Communist Studies and Transition Politics.