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1. East Asian Environmental Co-operation: Central Pessimism, Local Optimism

Author:
Sangbum Shin
Publication Date:
03-2007
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
University of British Columbia
Abstract:
This paper examines the regional environmental co-operation in East Asia at the local government level, focusing on the intercity environmental co-operation between the two cities in Japan and China—Kitakyushu and Dalian—as a case. Theoretically, this case demonstrates the dynamic nature of local government level environmental co-operation in the sense that all the three levels—government, local government, and private—are closely interconnected, and the major actors—the firms—play a role in shaping the outcome of intercity co-operation. Also, in terms of policy implication, this case is important not just for East Asian but also global environmental politics because it is the co-operation between cities in China and Japan—the two most important countries in East Asia that affect regional and global environmental protections efforts seriously. In order to investigate the reasons of success, and the dynamic nature of intercity environmental co-operation, this paper suggests a framework for analysis on the relationship between multiple dimensions of regional environmental co-operation, and then, examines the historical process and the details of the case and explains why this case has been remarkably successful and produced significant outcome. Finally, it draws some theoretical as well as policy implications of this case in terms of possibilities for and limitations of East Asian regional environmental co-operation in the future.
Topic:
Environment and Government
Political Geography:
Japan, China, and East Asia

2. In Medias Res: The Development of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation as a Security Community

Author:
Marc Lanteigne
Publication Date:
12-2006
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
University of British Columbia
Abstract:
As the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation observed its fifth anniversary in June 2006, the question of where the regime fits within the expanding area of international strategic institutions in Asia and elsewhere assumes an even greater importance. The SCO has begun to establish itself as a more formal actor in the complex area of Eurasian security, and has evolved from a largely consultative grouping into a security community. As well, the SCO has become the cornerstone of China's Central Asian diplomacy and its promotion of "non-alliance" forms of strategic cooperation. However, despite the SCO's endeavours to portray itself as a forum for information-sharing and confidence-building, as well as political and economic cooperation, hard power considerations remain an important part of the organisation's policymaking. Although the SCO was seen as marginalized when Western forces entered Central Asia after September 2001, the organisation plays key roles and should not be dismissed as a strategic actor and source of regional cooperation. Moreover, with American forces remaining in Central Asia for the foreseeable future and Central Asian governments becoming increasingly concerned about the potential after-shocks of the recent "colour revolutions" in the former USSR, there is the greater possibility that a more mature SCO may engage in overt power-balancing behaviour vis-à-vis the West, resulting in rivalries rather than cooperation. To prevent this scenario, it is argued that the international community should take the opportunity to better engage the SCO in the name of promoting peace and stability in Eurasia.
Topic:
Government
Political Geography:
China, America, Central Asia, and Eurasia

3. Dilemmas Confronting Social Entrepreneurs: Care Homes for Elderly People in Chinese Cities

Author:
Linda Wong and Jun Tang
Publication Date:
12-2006
Content Type:
Journal Article
Institution:
University of British Columbia
Abstract:
In socialist China, rapid aging, severe shortage of public provisions for frail elders, and the state's admitted failure to meet vast unmet needs have led the state to promote the use of non-profits as a key peg of welfare policy for the elderly. To this end, the Chinese government passed the Provisional Regulation on the Registration and Management of Civilian-run Non-enterprise Units in 1998 to set out the legal framework. Using tax exemption and preferential utility charges as baits, the 1998 decree encourages the birth of nonprofits to meet the shortfall in social services. The sharp rise in nonprofit organizations (NPOs) after 1998 suggests the policy is achieving its intended effect. However, the insistence on self-sufficiency and ban on profit taking means that such agencies have to operate as social enterprises, combining their social mission with an entrepreneurial mode of management as they rely on fee charges as the primary income source. The paper begins by examining the policy and demographic contexts for old age care and the concepts of NPOs, social enterprises and social entrepreneurship. It then presents research findings on the agency profiles and operational experiences of 137 non-state care homes in three Chinese cities. This is followed by an analysis of the motives for social entrepreneurship, namely family circumstances, personal attributes, social commitment, and entrepreneurial drive. The final part discusses the link between the nonprofit policy, NPO attributes and social entrepreneurship. It is argued that it is the peculiarity of the existing policy that attracted a very special group of social investors into the old age care business.
Topic:
Government
Political Geography:
China

4. The Political Economy of Japanese Sanctions towards North Korea: Domestic Coalitions and International Systemic Pressures

Author:
Christopher W. Hughes
Publication Date:
09-2006
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Pacific Affairs
Institution:
University of British Columbia
Abstract:
Japan has often been dismissed by mainstream international relations and policy discourse as a bit-part actor in Korean Peninsula security affairs. If ascribed any role at all, it is seen as a secondary and submissive actor, generally bending to US strategy and international systemic pressures. This paper argues, however, that Japanese policy towards North Korea is now challenging these international systemic pressures, and threatening divergence with US policy. This is due to the fact that Japan's policy is increasingly driven by domestic political considerations that are rivalling or even superseding international influences in importance. In order to highlight these domestic dynamics, the paper utilizes domestic sanctions theory and a detailed empirical analysis of the Japanese policy-making process with regard to the imposition of sanctions on North Korea. It demonstrates that a "threshold coalition" has now emerged in Japan which is tipping government policy towards sanctions, irrespective of, or even in opposition to, international systemic pressures to desist from such actions. The paper highlights the changing disposition of a pluralistic range of domestic actors away from default engagement to default containment. The consequence of these aggregate domestic pressures is that the Japanese government is finding it progressively harder to converge with US and international strategy towards North Korea. Japan is thus set to augment its influence in Korean Peninsula security affairs by becoming a more obstructive partner in attempts to find an international resolution to the nuclear crisis.
Topic:
Government
Political Geography:
Japan, North Korea, and Korea