This book examines the interregional relations of the European Union with East Asia through the prism of the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM). ASEM currently brings together 16 Asian countries, the 27 member states of the European Union, as well as the ASEAN Secretariat and the European Commission. ASEM's ten-year anniversary and the Sixth Summit in Helsinki prompted reflection on the forum's accomplishments in three dimensions of interaction, its working methods, democratic involvement, public awareness and global strategic potential. The volume provides an in-depth evaluation of ASEM's first decade from a European perspective, including the achievements of the ASEM6 Summit and its implications for the future of the process. It also analyzes the role of interregional interaction as a tool for EU foreign policy.

This edited volume examines contemporary relations between Europe and Asia through the prism of the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM). ASEM is an informal forum for dialogue and cooperation between 53 partners from both regions. Having started in 1996, ASEM aims to enhance political dialogue, strengthen economic cooperation, and promote socio-cultural exchange. The book provides insights into past achievements, current challenges, and possible new directions for ASEM as a dialogue forum. The chapters focus on institutional design, the security agenda, economic cooperation, and cultural exchange and civil society outreach through the Asia-Europe Foundation. They also zoom in on ASEM’s Parliamentary Partnership, and the ongoing challenge of public awareness and visibility. Furthermore, they critically examine the implications of the widening process, the attempts to reinvigorate the forum, and the varied perspectives on ASEM’s value for both regions. Appealing to policy-makers, researchers, and students, this volume provides an in-depth analysis of a wide range of issues relating to the role of ASEM in contemporary international relations.

Applying established theories to concrete phenomena, Asian-European Relations provides a comprehensive understanding of inter-regionalism and how co-operation between Asia and Europe should be fashioned in the new millennium. It contributes to the most recent developments in research by providing impressively rich studies to test existing theoretical frameworks

This wide-ranging book analyses EU-Asia security relations in a systematic, substantive and comparative manner. The contributions assess similarities and differences between the EU and its Asian partners with respect to levels of threat perception, policy response and security cooperation in the context of historical, institutional and external factors – such as the influence of the United States. The book presents original empirical research organised in four parts: a number of contributions providing discussions of the global context in which EU-Asia security relations develop; a series of chapters covering the range of dimensions of EU-Asian security, including both traditional and non-military aspects of security; chapters addressing the specific issues touching on bilateral relations between the EU and its partners in the Asia-Pacific region; and a final part presenting the overall findings across the various contributions together with the future outlook for EU-Asia security relations.

Following the Lisbon Treaty, the powers of the European Parliament in external relations have gradually expanded and it is increasingly influencing the foreign policy of the European Union. This book analyses the role of the European Parliament as an international actor and presents a new debate about its role outside the EU territory. It explores different policy areas including human rights, international aid, trade, crisis management and the environment to provide a systematic analysis of the modern global role of the European Parliament. The book also considers the European Parliament’s regional interactions with Africa, Latin America, the United States, Asia and the Middle East. With a common analytical framework and research covering the lifespan of the European Parliament from its first direct elections in 1979 to the present day, this comprehensive volume presents an unparalleled analysis of one of the most important institutions in the European Union. This book will be of interest to students and scholars of European Union politics and institutions, European policy, government, international relations and European history.

A new look at the European Union's role as a global actor, with special focus on the theme of interregionalism in its relations with key regions around the world: Africa, Asia, South America, North America and Central-Eastern Europe. This new collection clearly shows how, since the end of the Cold War, the European Union has gradually expanded its external relations and foreign policies and become a global actor in world politics. During the last decade interregionalism has become a key component of the EU’s external relations and foreign policies. In fact, the EU has quickly become the hub of a large number of interregional arrangements with a number of regions around the world. Promoting regional and interregional relations not only justifies and enhances the EU’s own existence and efficiency as a global ‘player’, the strategy also promotes the legitimacy and status of other regions, giving rise to a deepening of cross-cutting interregional relations in trade and economic relations, political dialogue, development cooperation, cultural relations and security cooperation. This book was previously published as a special issue of the leading Journal of European Integration.

EU studies increasingly recognize the salience of new regional insights. Hence, this collection of original essays provides a broad overview of regionalism, together with detailed analyses on the construction, activities, and implications of both established and emerging examples of formal political and economic organizations as well as informal regional entities and networks. Aimed at scholars and students interested in the continuing growth of regionalism, The Ashgate Research Companion to Regionalisms is a key resource to understanding the major debates in the field. Organized into three main sections, this volume deals with a wide range of issues covering the following important research areas: -Section one covers theoretical and methodological approaches to the study of established and formal regionalism, emerging and informal regionalism, inter-regionalism, and levels of regionalism. -Section two provides detailed case-studies of established and formal regionalisms: EU, NAFTA, ASEAN, SAARC, OAS, MERCOSUR, AU, ECOWAS, and SADC. -Section three offers case-studies that investigate emerging and informal regionalisms in Oceania, the Arab League, BRICSAM, and the Commonwealth(s) as well as thought-provoking chapters on micro-regional processes evident in spatial development initiatives, transnational gangs, transfrontier conservation areas, and the migration-conflict nexus in natural resource sectors. With the study of regionalism becoming an increasingly important part of politics, international relations, development, and global studies courses, this comprehensive volume is a valuable addition for classroom use.

Regional cooperation and integration have emerged as key issues for East Asia following the financial crisis. This book explores these issues, and examines the degree to which a new paradigm is emerging. It reviews the evolution of the concepts and practices of regionalism in East Asia, and considers the factors which are shaping new patterns of regional co-operation and integration. It includes discussions of historical developments, economic co-operation, socio-political factors, and defence and security. It considers the role of those states, including China and Japan, which have distinctive approaches to international relations, and assesses the role of regional international bodies such as ASEAN.

The debates on regionalism have been polarized between European Union (EU) scholars and non-EU scholars, with the assumption being that regionalism within the EU and other regions of the world are quite distinct, with little to be learnt from dialogue with each other. This book challenges such assumptions and calls for a genuine debate between scholars of regionalism. This book demonstrates that more can and needs to be learned about regional integration all over the world through comparison and reflection on specific regional trends. Beginning with a theoretically driven introduction, leading experts in the field are brought together to offer a series of case studies on regional integration within Latin America, Africa, Asia, North America and Europe. In Part III the authors investigate the links between the EU and selected other regional organisations and processes, exploring the dynamics through which these interregional relations are developing and the implications they have for the study of contemporary regionalism/regionalisation both inside and beyond the continent of Europe. The conclusions set out a challenging research agenda for comparative studies in the field. Addressing one of the under-explored aspects of EU studies, the EU’s coexistence with other pan-continental/regional organisations in the European continent, this book will be of interest to students and scholars of regionalism, IPE, European Studies and international politics.

Establishing strategic partnerships is a key objective for the European Union. These partnerships provide frameworks for flexible and long-term cooperation with global and regional players. This book focuses on the EU's strategy toward China and India and explores ways of promoting a stronger and more versatile role for the EU in Asia. The volume examines the emergence of China and India as global powers and the implications for the EU's common policies and strategies. It focuses on the role of the EU within Asia in terms of its political, security-related and cultural impact in addition to economic presence, and it explores the interplay of the EU, China and India in global governance and in utilizing and promoting multilateralism, especially in the context of climate change and energy security. The contributors discuss avenues for the EU to pursue its interests in Asia and to achieve its objectives in global governance and multilateralism through partnerships with China and India, while retaining its special relationship with the United States.