Regional Regimes in the Asia-Pacific

The recent proliferation of regional regimes, particularly regional trade regimes, has prompted a growth of scholarly interest in the subject on the part of both economists and political scientists. The former have explored the welfare consequences of regional regimes; the latter, the factors conducive to regime formation. These efforts have advanced our knowledge of the origins and effects of regional regimes. They have not, however, yielded generally accepted theoretical answers to two central questions: First, why do governments choose to form regional regimes? Second, why do governments choose the specific institutional forms that they do? Within the Southeast Asian context, these questions are particularly relevant in the context of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ (ASEAN) contemplation of economic, political and socio-cultural integration. Moreover, these questions also demand enquiries into the efficacy of particular regional regimes and their implications for East Asia and the world.