Eastphalia and Asian Regionalism

Abstract

This symposium paper examines the future of Asian regionalism in light of European experience. It suggests that the trajectory of regional organization in Asia will be profoundly different. Whereas law played a major role in European Union integration, it has not played much of a role in Asia. Rather integration is driven by an economic logic. There are profound barriers to deep legal integration in Asia, including different conceptions of the role of law, continuing tensions among core economies, and a traditionalist, sovereignty guarding approach to international law. The latter is characterized as Eastphalian.