Europe and Asia are two major centres for the development of multi-polar and multi-lateral relations. This volume explores the substance and manner in which the member countries of the EU and their Asian counterparts interact at bilateral, multi-lateral and inter-regional levels.

The Handbook provides a comprehensive range of contributions on the relations between the EU and Asia - two regions undergoing significant changes internally yet also developing stronger relations in the context of an emerging multi-polar world. It collates some 40 contributions from various disciplines by contributors from throughout the world.

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 book highlights the emerging bidirectional interactions between Europe—primarily the EU—and Asia in the fields of political economy, development, environmental policy, security, diplomacy, and inter-institutional relations within the context of two recent global trends: the rise of China and the growing withdrawal of the U.S. from multilateral commitments. The volume incorporates nine different aspects and dimensions of Asian-European relations. In recent decades, Asia has (re-)gained rising importance on the world stage, which also entails closer interconnections with Europe. In an age of receding American global leadership and reduced commitments to its European allies, the EU and its member states have increasingly become more open to seeking and considering new partnerships. The rising economic prowess of Asia has made it of particular interest for European states. The book’s focus lies on potential challenges and opportunities in the bidirectional interactions between European and Asian states and institutions.

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.

Interregional Relations are a novel field within international relations which have increasingly been attracting scholarly interest. Thus, over the last five years or so, Interregional Relations has firmly established itself as a research field, initially within political science, and gradually in economics. This volume assesses interregional relations between Asia and Europe. It contributes to the most recent developments in research by providing impressively rich studies to test existing theoretical frameworks. Featured in this volume are conceptual contributions, in particular, theoretically inspired studies which conduct in-depth investigation of a broad variety of interregional interactions, such as the political management of globalisation through interregional co-operation, regional security, human rights and finally, the dialogue between Asian and European NGOs. The economic contributions likewise undertake an extensive assessment of areas such as interregional trade and investment flows, the Asian Development Bank and interregional mergers. 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. The integration of political and economic research in this book will be of interest to graduates and researchers in the fields of international relations, international economics, regional integration, and interregionalism.

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.

This volume represents the first, in-depth, inter-disciplinary, analysis of the past, present and future of the European Union’s relations with countries, non-state actors and other partners across the Asia-Pacific region. The book is situated in the developing, interdisciplinary, discourse of EU foreign policy towards countries and regions across Asia, and it offers a research-led critique of the construction and the elements of the EU-Asia ‘political space’. Written by an international team of experts from both Asia and Europe, the volume investigates the historical and cultural background, as well as diverse representations and imaginations in regard to the Asia-Europe inter-continental dialogue. The book examines the varied patterns, policies and priorities of the contemporary political, economic and cultural relations linking the EU with its interlocutors in Asia. Moreover, this collection throws light on a selected number of issues pertinent to current EU-Asia interaction, such as human rights promotion, learning and educational exchange, and the role of the mass media in the construction of Asia-Europe relations. The twelve chapters in this book cover a wide scope of subjects, including the EU’s Relations with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the summitry of the Asia-Europe Meetings (ASEM), EU foreign policy choices in Asia and EU contacts with Central Asia, Australia and New Zealand. This text is of interest to undergraduate and postgraduate students, lecturers, the business community, decision-makers and practitioners in Politics, European Studies, Asia-Pacific Studies, International Relations, Law, Human Rights and Business Studies.

Europe and the Asia-Pacific is the most wide-ranging and accessible book currently available on the increasingly important relationship between these two regions. Compiled by leading experts, it covers the historical background, contemporary political setting and the vitally important economic aspects of this relationship. Moving on to deal with security considerations and policy decisions it provides valuable insights into the developing partnership between Europe and the Asia-Pacific. Rigorous and up-to-date, it is born out of the work of the Council for Asia-Europe cooperation (CAEC), a body of think tanks that supports the Asia-Europe Summit Meeting (ASEM) process.