Asian Review of Political Economy最新文献

Given the significant religious connotations, political demands, and social implications associated with Islamic extremism, it is crucial that counter-extremism strategies address a wide array of areas. This is particularly vital in the realms of political participation, religious management, and social governance, all of which are essential for the prevention of Islamic extremism. The complexity and diversity present in the political, religious, and social landscapes of Middle Eastern countries have led to variations in the policies and effectiveness of governance approaches related to Islamic extremism. These variations provide valuable lessons and insights. This article aims to analyze the differences and implications of governance approaches to extremism in the Middle East through a multidimensional assessment of the interrelations among politics and religion, religious-secular relations, and state-society relations. Rather than categorizing these approaches as inherently positive or negative, it is imperative for each country to identify governance strategies that are congruent with its unique circumstances.

The recent events in the Middle East caught most political commentators, observers and thinkers by surprise. Who would have imagined that a non-state actor like Hamas could launch an attack on Israel and create such a complex condition for a powerful state, heavily supported by the USA and Western powers? However, crises in the Middle East often escalate unpredictably, defying calculations and expectations. This paper argues that since October 7th 2023, not only in the Middle East but also in several other regions worldwide, major rival powers have been struggling with crises that are leading to reshape the global order. The paper argues that the realms of Economy, Security, and Diplomacy among the primary global powers are all under scrutiny as they navigate the crises that have intensified significantly towards altering the global order.

This study aims to discuss China’s bilateral partnership with Southeast Asia under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). China’s BRI framework of cooperation serves as a platform for enhancing economic, cultural, tourism, and trade relationships with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member states, promoting regional development and cooperation. China’s BRI cooperation framework comprehensively defines “Globalization 5.0” and this research speaks rationally about the theory of power transition. As a result, BRI projects not only benefit Southeast Asian countries by improving infrastructure and economic growth but also contribute to China’s strategic goal of expanding its influence in the region through connectivity and cooperation. The BRI has been instrumental in developing large-scale infrastructure projects across Southeast Asia, including railways, ports, highways, and energy projects. The China-Laos Railway, which connects Vientiane with Kunming, is a notable example, promoting regional connectivity and trade. Similarly, the Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway in Indonesia is another high-profile project aimed at enhancing transportation efficiency. In addition to economic and infrastructure projects, the BRI has enhanced cultural ties between China and Southeast Asia. This includes educational exchanges, joint research initiatives, and people-to-people exchanges, fostering stronger mutual understanding and cooperation. Collaborative cultural programs and tourism initiatives have been promoted to strengthen these ties.

How regime types affect the provision of social spending in the context of developing countries? This article provides a novel political-economic approach, arguing that single-party regimes are more likely to spend on pensions than other types of autocratic states to co-opt the large number of critical members although the regime type does not affect the general welfare spending across autocratic states. The theory emphasizes the effect of institutional and power structure heterogeneity across autocracies in shaping the incentives and strategies that the ruling elites co-opt and respond to the demands of the ruling coalition across different autocratic regimes. Using panel, ordinary least squares (OLS) regression with lagged dependent variable along with several empirical strategies, it finds the evidence supporting this argument with a new dataset from 1990 to 2012. The study provides new insights on how autocratic institutions especially the party utilize strategic social policies to resolve the elite-level dictator dilemma for regime survival that are absent in other autocratic types.

Since the 1990s, China’s engagement beyond its geographical periphery, especially with Asian regions, has grown exceptionally, which is best evident in the Gulf sub-region and Western Asian nations. Indeed, energy-based interactions were the first to be established with Gulf Arab countries, and today, more than two decades after the Cold War, such relationships have evolved into tighter partnerships and engagement networks. Thus, in the last decade, China has increased its economic and political footprint in the Gulf region, as it has become one of the region’s largest external investors and trade partners. In its relations with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states, China faces varying challenges as each country pursues its interests, making the Chinese strategy in the region more complex. The Gulf countries have had to balance their relationship between the US as a security guarantor and China as an important economic partner. They strive to maximize their political and economic interests in the process. The main contention of this paper is that the GCC should not be viewed as a homogenous entity and that the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is a flexible approach designed to bolster China’s economic objectives in each Gulf country. Our research scrutinizes China’s geo-economic strategy and geopolitical aims about the Gulf States’ aspirations to maximize their economic ties with China. Against this background, this paper discusses the political and economic relationships between the People’s Republic of China and the Gulf Arab states: Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

This study proposes a framework to analyze the interaction between geopolitics and the Middle-Technology Trap, drawing on evidence from China's CNC machine-tool industry. Qualitative methods such as interviews have been utilized to identify geopolitical variables that have driven the development of the Chinese CNC machine tools industry. To explore the combined effects of the Middle-Technology Trap and the intense competition between China and the West, this article focuses on an industry that has been significantly influenced by the economic decoupling between China and the US, a phenomenon deeply rooted in recent great power competition. While several industries may illustrate the new status quo of the Middle-Technology Trap, the CNC machine-tool industry is particularly exemplary due to its close interrelation with geopolitics. Accordingly, this study presents a catch-up case that incorporates technology-oriented aspects and factors from strategic competition, underlining three scenarios that geopolitics could influence the result of addresing the Middle-Technology Trap, respectively technological decoupling, the relocation of supply chain, and industrial policy.

This article addresses a critical issue facing developing countries: overcoming the “middle-technology trap” to achieve sustainable economic growth. It posits that transitioning to an innovation-driven economic growth model is pivotal for surmounting this trap and is an essential prerequisite for high-quality development. This study introduces a strategic approach through a new development model, emphasizing the synergy among three core systems: basic scientific research, applied technology, and financial support. This “three-pronged” collaboration model is argued to foster sustainable innovation-driven growth, essential for leaping over the “middle-income trap” towards high-quality development. By analyzing the historical trajectories of the Soviet Union and the United States, the article delineates the critical role of the proposed model in fostering an innovation economy. The Soviet Union’s failure and the United States’ success are examined through the lens of their respective approaches to integrating basic scientific research, applied technology, and financial systems. The analysis underscores the necessity of a balanced and interactive relationship among these systems for technological innovation, industrial development, and sustainable economic growth. The article concludes that for China to overcome the “middle-technology trap” and achieve long-term prosperity, it should embrace this “three-pronged” new development model, ensuring continuous scientific exploration, technological innovation, and productivity enhancement.

This paper aims to unveil the role of openness in fostering enterprises to achieve technological progress. By conducting a comparative analysis of Chinese and Western companies’ supply chain strategies in the internet and new energy industries, the article finds that American enterprises have a higher level of supply chain openness than Chinese enterprises in both two industries. Based on the case analysis, that paper argues that openness plays a vital role in promoting technological innovation in enterprises. The profound influence of openness in promoting technological advancement may be observed through three aspects: openness at the technical level, openness in attracting talent, and openness in facilitating the development of rules and regulations. Accordingly, suggestions are proposed to assist Chinese enterprises in avoiding the “Middle-Technology Trap” through openness on the basis of legislation and public policy intervention. Meanwhile, the Chinese government is suggested to promote national coordination to establish a national unified market to realize the three levels of openness of the supply chain and industrial chain strategies: enterprise-level, domestic regional level, and international level.

This article aims to elucidate the varying effects of democratization in ASEAN members on the normative changes in the core principles of the “ASEAN Way.” Utilizing a regional-centric approach that emphasizes ASEAN members’ agency, the article posits that two critical variables shape the changing trajectory of ASEAN norms: ASEAN members' democratic performances and their regional status. While an ASEAN member’s democratic performance influences its willingness to advocate for normative changes, its regional status is also crucial in determining its capability to implement changes by navigating the divergent interests among ASEAN members. Only the ASEAN member with a high-quality democratic performance at home and recognized regional leadership can effectively bring about normative changes to ASEAN norms. Otherwise, either the domestic democratic deficit or a lack of leadership status will hinder the ASEAN members’ efforts to promote normative changes. Using the process-tracing method, the article empirically focuses on the Philippines, Thailand, and Indonesia for comparative case studies. The findings reveal that the Philippines’ poor democratic performance since the democratic restoration in 1986 has hindered its motivation to push for normative changes in ASEAN, rendering the Philippines a reluctant promoter. Although Thailand has made notable achievements in democratic consolidation since the downfall of junta rule in 1992, its lack of regional leadership has greatly limited its capability to reconcile the divergent interests among ASEAN members, resulting in the failure of its “flexible engagement” initiative. Conversely, Indonesia, with a high-quality democratic performance at home and bolstered by its regional leadership status, successfully brought significant changes to ASEAN norms by facilitating the ASEAN Charter signed in 2007.