This paper argues that the collective action in Asia by its regional organizations has historically suffered from a "capability-legitimacy gap": a disjuncture between the capability (in terms of material resources) of major Asian powers to lead regional cooperation on the one hand and their...

This paper examines the evolving dynamics between economic globalization and Asian regional interdependence, and asks whether and how the global financial crisis impacted Asian regionalism. The analysis suggests that the global crisis did trigger advances in regional policy cooperation from 2007...

The paper argues that East Asia is setting the pace for the recent trend in regional and inter-regional integration, which is associated with multilateral infrastructure connectivity initiatives, like the "Belt and Road Initiative" (BRI) of the People's Republic of China and Japan's "Partnership...

To what extent do the World Health Organization, the World Trade Organization, and the World Bank remain central today and how much influence do they still wield in shaping the global agenda? While several studies have traced the development of various intergovernmental organizations (IGOs),...

This paper examines the political and security challenges and prospects of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in the coming two decades. To simplify what is a hugely complex and wide-ranging set of issues, I divide the security challenges facing ASEAN into six broad categories....

Galvanized by the devastation of the Second World War, European countries achieved a historically unprecedented and unparalleled level of regional economic integration in the postwar period. Intensive cooperation between the two biggest powers of continental Western Europe, France, and Germany,...

The aim of this paper is to analyze the barriers to economic integration of Caspian Sea countries ‒ specifically the Russian Federation, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Iran, and Georgia ‒ and suggest solutions. A literature review is used as a methodology for conducting...

This paper explores several mechanisms by which the barriers imposed by rules of origin may be reduced through effective trade facilitation efforts. Also discussed are the functional similarities of a variety of other requirements on international trade with rules of origin, including...

Most projections envision continued rapid growth in the members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the People's Republic of China (PRC), and India (collectively, ACI) over the next two decades. By 2030, they could quadruple their output, virtually eliminate extreme poverty,...

This paper argues that calls for a New Bretton Woods system in the aftermath of the global economic crisis - similar to the remarkable 1944 Bretton Woods conference that led to the establishment of various international economic institutions - are unlikely to be answered. The likely scenario is...