Beyond the Borders - Local Initiative of Korea, Japan, and China Towards East Asian Economic Cooperation -

Abstract

This article contends that it is rather the local governments, than the central governments, that are playing the leading role in the economic cooperation in East Asian region and that, therefore, the advance of decentralization in countries in this region tends to accelerate the formation of the East Asian economic sphere. Why by local initiative? The answer can be found by analyzing the internal and the international relationship in this region. Such an analysis will reveal the process in which local governments, one of the major actors in low politics, assume the leading role in the economic cooperation beyond the boundaries of national-states. Why the tendency of decentralization in East Asian countries? This thesis will demonstrate that it is an outcome of critical reflection on present development strategy among countries in this region. It can be said that they have crisis of success in Korea and Japan, and crisis of failure in China, both of them caused by the development strategy initiated by the central government. In retrospecting more than half a century of the endeavor initiated by central governments, there came to be increasing voices demanding modification in the strategies or new development strategy, including decentralization and local initiative. This thesis will be supported by the case study of South China economic sphere where the formation of the economic sphere has been considerably advanced. Analyzing and appraising the active role by the local governments in the building process of economic sphere is the substantial part of this study.