Search results for ""Author Baogang He""

Deepening regionalism in Asia demands new leadership. Strong elites who are committed to a supranational identity are a minimum requirement of successful regionalism. Regional leaders are increasingly seen as a new set of leaders in Europe. Currently, Asian regional leaders largely come from the diplomacy community, or trade and economic sectors. Yet further regionalization demands a new type of leadership from civil society and citizens. In this context it is important to cultivate new regional leadership through the development of regional citizenship. This book examines contested ideas of regionalism in Asia with a particular focus on two competing ideas of pan-Asianism and Pacificism. It also identifies a new trend and contestation, the fundamental shift from a civilization understanding of regionalism to a technocratic and functional understanding of regionalism in the form of regulatory regionalism. It also examines the other contested imaginations of regionalism in Asia including elitist versus participatory approaches to regionalism, and democracy-centric versus nationalism-centric approaches to regionalism.

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This book problematises China's current policies towards Tibet and Taiwan and offers a fresh democratic approach. When it comes to talking about democracy in China, Chinese nationalists argue that it cannot solve China's problems, while Chinese liberals remain unduly silenced. But China is facing a national identity crisis, compounded by Tibet and Taiwan, where significant proportions of both populations do not identify with the Chinese nation state. Could democracy realistically address the problems in China's national identity? Baogang He opens up a dialogue in which Chinese liberals can offer viable alternatives in defence of key democratic principles and governance. He upholds the search for a political space in which democratic governance in China can feasibly be developed. It problematises existing hard liners' realist policies towards Tibet and Taiwan by examining how democracy can or cannot provide an answer. It examines the different meanings, practices, institutions and various impacts of democracy with regards to the problem of China's national identity. It presents the difficulties and obstacles to the democratic approach to the respective Tibet and Taiwan questions.

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Until now there have been few attempts to examine the different models of federalism appropriate in Asia, let alone to trace the extent to which these different perspectives are compatible, converging, or mutually influencing each other. This book redresses the balance by demonstrating the varieties of Asian federalism.Federalism in Asia explores the range of theoretical perspectives that shape debates over federalism in general, and over territorial, multinational, hybrid, and asymmetric federalism in particular relation to Asia. The contributors share their understanding of how federal or quasi-federal institutions manage ethnic conflicts and accommodate differences, how democratization facilitates the development of federalism and how federalism facilitates or inhibits democratization in Asia. Their conclusion is that hybrid federalism or quasi-federalism is more prevalent in some Asian countries than others; and the need and potential for greater federalism in more Asian countries makes this sortie into this area worthwhile. While federalism is relevant to Asia, the working pattern of Asian federalism does not necessarily follow a Western style. Hybrid federal institutional design can be seen as an Asian strategy of managing ethnic conflicts through federal arrangements.This unique book will be of great interest to a wide range of scholars and researchers who work on issues of federalism, political economy, public policy, ethnic relations, cultural diversity and democratization in the Asian region. Policymakers and activists dealing with issues of minority rights and ethnic conflict in the region, government officials and NGOs within Asia, and officials in international agencies and organizations will also find much to engage them.

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Until now there have been few attempts to examine the different models of federalism appropriate in Asia, let alone to trace the extent to which these different perspectives are compatible, converging, or mutually influencing each other. This book redresses the balance by demonstrating the varieties of Asian federalism.Federalism in Asia explores the range of theoretical perspectives that shape debates over federalism in general, and over territorial, multinational, hybrid, and asymmetric federalism in particular relation to Asia. The contributors share their understanding of how federal or quasi-federal institutions manage ethnic conflicts and accommodate differences, how democratization facilitates the development of federalism and how federalism facilitates or inhibits democratization in Asia. Their conclusion is that hybrid federalism or quasi-federalism is more prevalent in some Asian countries than others; and the need and potential for greater federalism in more Asian countries makes this sortie into this area worthwhile. While federalism is relevant to Asia, the working pattern of Asian federalism does not necessarily follow a Western style. Hybrid federal institutional design can be seen as an Asian strategy of managing ethnic conflicts through federal arrangements.This unique book will be of great interest to a wide range of scholars and researchers who work on issues of federalism, political economy, public policy, ethnic relations, cultural diversity and democratization in the Asian region. Policymakers and activists dealing with issues of minority rights and ethnic conflict in the region, government officials and NGOs within Asia, and officials in international agencies and organizations will also find much to engage them.

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