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The Awkwardness of Australian Engagement with Asia: The Dilemmas of Australian Idea of Regionalism

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 June 2011

BAOGANG HE
BAOGANG HE*
Affiliation:
Deakin University, AustraliaBaogang.he@deakin.edu.au
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Abstract

Australia has experienced difficulties engaging with Asia-Pacific regional integration. Despite Australian attempts to punch above its weight in regional forums and to be a regional leader, it is still not regarded as a full member or as quite fitting into the region. It is an ‘awkward partner’ in the Asian context, and has experienced the ‘liminality’ of being neither here nor there. The former Rudd government's proposal for an ‘Asia Pacific Community’ (APC) by the year 2020 was a substantive initiative in Australia's ongoing engagement with Asia. It has, however, attracted a high level of criticism both at home and abroad. The main critical analysis of the proposal has focused on institutional building or architecture, or its relationship with existing regional institutions, but overlooks a host of often fraught questions about culture, norms, identities, and international power relations. The APC concept needs to be scrutinized in terms of these questions with a critical eye. This paper examines the cultural, cognitive, and normative dimensions of Rudd's proposal. It analyses four dilemmas or awkward problems that the APC faces.

Type
Research Article
Information
Japanese Journal of Political Science , Volume 12 , Issue 2 , August 2011 , pp. 267 - 285
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2011

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