UNRAVELING UNCONVENTIONAL ALLIANCES: NORTHEAST ASIAN STATES AND UNORGANIZED REGIONALISM

Abstract

This paper examines the tradition of interactions among states in Northeast Asia and the lack of experience in establishing intra-regional organizations. While economic interactions in the region are promising, security issues remain alarming, such as the Korean peninsula conflict and China's sovereignty claim over Chinese Taipei. The paper uses the concepts of regional integration and hegemony to explain the problems that arise. Northeast Asia has a unique high dynamic of interactions, partly due to the absence of formal institutions for managing relationships among its states. The paper discusses integration concepts and regional organizations as the base for regional cooperation, exploring how regional integration can serve as an alternative between the reality of anarchism in relationships between states and hope for integrated global societies in the future. The conclusion brings together the discussion and analysis of the problem raised in the research question