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.

The inauguration of the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) in Bangkok in 1996 was celebrated with enthusiasm and hopes in the two regions because this forum represented a breakthrough in Asia-Europe relations. The region-to-region pattern of the relations becomes the study framework that enables the explorations of central themes which include the Asian regional identity, ASEAN collective diplomatic prominence, and the informality of the ASEM institution. In exploring those central themes, this book applies constructivist, realist, and neo-liberal institutional theories consecutively. The difference between Asian and European cooperative culture, as well as the longevity of an international institution, adds to the picture. This book contributes not only to the study of Asia-Europe relations but also to the understanding of regionalism in Asia.

This book gives a critical assessment of the ASEM process, which now brings together all 27 EU members, the European Commission and 16 East Asian states, and examines its progress in terms of economic and social development, politics and culture.

Asia and Europe provides a thorough examination of the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) process which brings together the 15 EU member states, the European Commission and ten East and Southeast Asian countries.

The Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM), officially established in 1996, is an inter-regional forum consisting of the 15 member states of the European Union and the European Commission, 7 member of the 10 states of ASEAN and China, Japan and South Korea. In this important volume academics from Asia and Europe examine the level of engagement between both continents and highlight how the ASEM process has been conducive in enhancing the political, economic and cultural ties between the various Asian and ...

The ASEM process began in March 1996 with the first Asia–Europe Meeting in Bangkok. It brings together the Heads of State or Government of 10 Asian countries and of the 15 Member States of the EU, along with the President of the European Commission. The initial Asia–Europe summit set in motion a process involving summit-level meetings every second year, ministerial meetings in between and more frequent meetings at the senior-official, working and expert level. The second ASEM summit was held in London in April 1998 and the third in Seoul in October 2000. The fourth summit will be held in Denmark in September 2002. The core ministerial meetings of the ASEM process (foreign affairs, economics and finance) normally take place every year; this year additional meetings of ministers of science and technology, environment and migration have been organised. The ASEM process was founded on the mutual recognition, in Asia and in Europe, that relations between our two regions needed to be strengthened, to reflect the increased importance of Asia on the world stage. The ASEM process reflects our evolution from an ‘aid and trade’ relationship, towards a more balanced and equal partnership. The Commission had already pointed to the need for a new partnership in its Asia strategy of July 1994, shortly before Singapore’s suggestion in November 1994 that an Asia–Europe summit be considered. The importance attached to ASEM has recently been confirmed in the ‘New Asia’ strategy, published in September 2001.

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.

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

In 2012, Russia assumes the Chairmanship of APEC, and is keen to build on its memberships of both East Asia Summit (EAS) and the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM). Russia is geographically and historically part of Asia and the Asia Pacific, and has been a dialogue partner of ASEAN since 1996. Still, the obstacles of distance and languages have led ASEAN member states and Russia to know and interact little between both sides. As growth poles in the world economy, there is much benefit in greater interaction between their rich economies. To commemorate the 15th Anniversary of the Russia-ASEAN dialogue partnership in 2011, the ASEAN Studies Centre at ISEAS and its counterpart from MGIMO-University, Moscow co-organized a two-day conference that year, in which papers were presented offering perspectives from Russia and the ten ASEAN member states. Representatives from academia, and the public and private sectors offered insights on topics including geopolitics, bilateral relations, business and economics, and culture and education. This is a timely book that affords the reader insights into where ASEAN-Russia relations currently stand and suggests how they can improve and move forward.