Understanding the stunted progress of the Northeast Asian regional cooperation a case study on the "greater tumen initiative" via the "greater mekong subregion"

Abstract

The Tumen River Area region is recognized as the economic potential area in the Northeast Asia after the Cold War period. The five countries namely, China, Russia, DPRK, Mongolia and ROK initiated the Intergovernmental regional economic cooperation to reach prosperous development in the area in economic field under the auspices of the UNDP. This enthusiasm led them to the establishment of the Development Programme (TRADP)/Greater Tumen Initiative (GTI) to collaborate together from 1991 till present, under the one vision and purpose. However, the whole Program developmental progress has been stagnate. To begin with the research, the thesis introduced the methodology and framework applied to the area cooperation in NEA in the beginning. The next two chapters covered the introduction of two regional cooperation which are GTI and Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS), to further contribute to the analysis. Chapter followed by the determination of the challenges faced GTI. In this part the detected issues which are assumed as the affecting problems to the developmental progress of the GTI, are compared to the GMS, the most similar regional economic cooperation in the region. In this sense, this thesis can contribute to the understanding of the potential challenges of the GTI, that are projected in five different categories such as institutional, functional, inherent and operational issues, then compared with another cooperation program, which has similar features and objectives with GTI. Furthermore, as a supplementary explanatory factor to the challenges the Strategic Action Plan of GTI evaluated in the next chapter. Followed by the examination of the Asian regional cooperation phenomenon. Lastly, the research findings and policy implications are introduced in accordance with the determined issues in GTI. To conclude, this empirical thesis has explored the problems and prospects that help to explain why the regional cooperation namely GTI has been stunted the progress is worth studying.