Asian Politics & Policy最新文献

The dependency relationship in economic and trade cooperation between countries has long been a subject of ongoing debate among scholars of international relations. Albert Hirschman proposed his theory, known as the “Hirschman effect,” which examines how profit-making groups influence the foreign policies of nations. However, this article contends that interest groups alone cannot fully account for the Hirschman effect. Through examining cases involving Southeast Asian countries and China, it becomes evident that security needs and interest preferences collectively influence the strength of the Hirschman effect between small and large countries. Specifically, Cambodia, Malaysia, and the Philippines illustrate varying degrees of the Hirschman effect, with Cambodia exhibiting a positive effect, Malaysia demonstrating a composite effect, and the Philippines displaying a negative effect.

On August 31, 2021, 20 years after the beginning of Operation Enduring Freedom, President Biden announced the completion of the United States (US) withdrawal from Afghanistan. The difficult conditions of the withdrawal raised major questions about US credibility, as images from Kabul were broadcasted around the world. Pundits, scholars, and former decision makers warned that reputational damages incurred by Washington could lead Chinese decision makers to reassess the credibility of US commitments in the Indo-Pacific. Few studies have, however, examined how China interpreted the Afghanistan withdrawal. This article proposes to fill this gap. It argues that though Chinese observers did see the Afghanistan withdrawal as caused by a lack of US resolve, this perceived lack of resolve did not translate into general reputational costs for the United States and, consequently, calculations made by Chinese observers about US credibility in the Indo-Pacific region remain largely unimpacted by the Afghanistan setback.

What explains the exponential growth of the number of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in China during the recent decades? Moving beyond the extant literature that focuses on the strategic relationship between NGOs and the local state, this article argues that the growth can be also attributed to the central state which has focused on the promotion of different types of NGOs throughout time. The proactive role of the central state has become more conspicuous under the Xi Jinping administration where the party-state plays a more active role in maneuvering the growth of a service-oriented third sector. This adaptive strategy has led to the counterintuitive phenomenon of an increase in institutional space for NGOs in authoritarian China, especially the social service-oriented NGOs in recent years. This article draws from theories of institutional change to explain the process through which the central state has expanded institutional space for NGOs throughout time.

The Indonesian governments developed the Upsus Pajale policy to achieve a goal and solve the problem of food self-sufficiency. Rice, corn, and soybean were the main commodities in the plan of Upsus Pajale Policy implementation. UPSUS Pajale improve rice, corn, and soybean production for food self-sufficiency. This study examined UPSUS Pajale policy implementation at the province, district, subdistrict, and farmer levels. This study examined rice growing in Banyuasin's tidal lowlands, Ogan Komering Ilir's swamplands, and East Ogan Komering Ulu's irrigated rice fields. The research method used a combination model of quantitative and qualitative (mixed method). Sampling data used purposive sampling. NVivo 12 software examined provincial, district, subdistrict, farmer interviews, and group discussions. Results affected typology management constraints differently. Production input costs were the most common issue. This study found that policy was differently implemented at various levels. It would be impacted to the success of the policy.

Asia's contribution will be decisive for the global effort to mitigate climate change. But Asia lacks a country that could take the lead and inspire the rest of the region to accelerate its climate action. To identify countries that could fulfill such a role, this article takes a two-step, mixed-methods approach. First, an index is created to identify some potentially leading countries. Second, the top countries identified by the index are assessed in greater detail qualitatively. The analysis finds that China, Japan, and Singapore are the most plausible candidates to take the lead. By doing so, these countries could potentially inspire their neighbors to step up their own efforts as climate change becomes an increasingly important issue in international affairs. However, to become a leader and influence their peers, they will have to make a conscious choice and dedicated effort.

The phrase “action-reaction” has been frequently reiterated in public speeches by Malaysian leaders, formal documents, and behind-the-scenes discussions. This article contends that this expression operates as a manifestation of Malaysian policymakers' comprehension of the security dilemma and their strategic assessment of their position within a security ecosystem. As part of the interconnected web of relationships among regional actors, any disturbance has the potential to draw Malaysia, as a small state, into an extended cycle of crises. This article draws on Malaysia's conduct in the South China Sea (1970–2023). To mitigate risks, in alignment with various scholarly perspectives, Malaysia adopts a hedging strategy involving tradeoffs and contingency plans. Beyond hedging, a more proactive perspective is also emphasized: when Malaysia identifies affordances or opportunities to act within the security ecosystem, it endeavors to leverage them for its benefit.

Does the Philippines have a grand strategy? The question is biased in favor of a negative answer. Odds are stacked against detecting a grand strategy in non-great-power states. Operationalizing grand strategy as a consistent pattern of behavior reduces bias, but odds are also stacked against observing policy continuities in the Philippines. Increasing the level of analysis, emphasizing outcomes over intentions, and enlarging the time scale can help. Applying these analytical techniques, I argue that a Philippine grand strategy is evident in continuities in the country's foreign and security policies on the South China Sea from 1995 to 2022 under the successive administrations of Ramos, Estrada, Arroyo, Aquino III, and Duterte. The grand strategy has five component policies: (1) bilateral diplomacy with China, (2) multilateral diplomacy through the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), (3) grounding in the law of the sea, (4) maintaining the alliance with the US, and (5) modernizing the military.

Official Development Assistance (ODA) is defined by a motive: the promotion of the economic development and welfare of developing countries. This review article considers the motives of one donor, South Korea, with a close reading and comparison of three authoritative texts. It argues that Korean ODA is primarily motivated by increasing status and influence, and supporting the overseas expansion of Korean companies. There is also a contribution from secondary motivations more clearly related to the definition of ODA: humanitarianism and being a good global citizen.