Attempting developmental regionalism through AFTA : the domestic politics - domestic capital nexus

The relationship of regionalism to globalisation is modelled in the literature either as open regionalism aimed at integration with the global market or as a project of resistance to global market forces. Neither of these ideal-type models adequately accounts for an empirical puzzle associated with...

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Main Author: Helen E. S. Nesadurai
Other Authors: S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies
Format: Working Paper
Published: 2009
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Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10356/104461
http://hdl.handle.net/10220/4431
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Institution: Nanyang Technological University
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spelling sg-ntu-dr.10356-1044612020-11-01T08:49:52Z Attempting developmental regionalism through AFTA : the domestic politics - domestic capital nexus Helen E. S. Nesadurai S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies DRNTU::Social sciences::Political science::Political institutions::Asia The relationship of regionalism to globalisation is modelled in the literature either as open regionalism aimed at integration with the global market or as a project of resistance to global market forces. Neither of these ideal-type models adequately accounts for an empirical puzzle associated with the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA). Althought AFTA is acknowledged as a project of open regionalism aimed at attracting FDI to Southeast Asian region, its member surprisingly chose to accord foreign investors full market access and national treatment privileges at least ten years later than to ASEAN national investors in AFTA's investment liberalisation component programme. How do we explain this seeming contradition? By making a conceptual distinction between foreign-owned and domestic-owned capital, a distinction that is particularly salient in the Southeast Asian context where domestic-owned, often 'emerging' capital performs vital social/politial roles and whose survival is crucial in sustaining elite rule, this paper advances a third model of the globalisation-regionalism relationship. Developmental regionalism, which draws on stategic trade theory from the International Economics discipline, describes and approach to regionalism in which an initial period of partial and temporary resistance to global competition is employed to build up domestic firms able to eventually engage in global competition. In particular, it was to preserve domestic businesses that were closely allied with members of the political/ruling elite that led certain member goverments in ASEAN to advocate a developmental role for AFTA through its investment liberalisation programme, while still using the regional tariff liberalisation component programme as the 'carrot' to attract FDI. 2009-02-05T09:32:44Z 2019-12-06T21:33:16Z 2009-02-05T09:32:44Z 2019-12-06T21:33:16Z 2002 2002 Working Paper Helen E. S. N. (2002) Attempting developmental regionalism through AFTA : the domestic politics - domestic capital nexus. (RSIS Working Paper, No. 31). Singapore: Nanyang Technological University. https://hdl.handle.net/10356/104461 http://hdl.handle.net/10220/4431 RSIS Working Papers ; 031/02 Nanyang Technological University 35 p. application/pdf
institution Nanyang Technological University
building NTU Library
continent Asia
country Singapore
Singapore
content_provider NTU Library
collection DR-NTU
topic DRNTU::Social sciences::Political science::Political institutions::Asia
spellingShingle DRNTU::Social sciences::Political science::Political institutions::Asia
Helen E. S. Nesadurai
Attempting developmental regionalism through AFTA : the domestic politics - domestic capital nexus
description The relationship of regionalism to globalisation is modelled in the literature either as open regionalism aimed at integration with the global market or as a project of resistance to global market forces. Neither of these ideal-type models adequately accounts for an empirical puzzle associated with the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA). Althought AFTA is acknowledged as a project of open regionalism aimed at attracting FDI to Southeast Asian region, its member surprisingly chose to accord foreign investors full market access and national treatment privileges at least ten years later than to ASEAN national investors in AFTA's investment liberalisation component programme. How do we explain this seeming contradition? By making a conceptual distinction between foreign-owned and domestic-owned capital, a distinction that is particularly salient in the Southeast Asian context where domestic-owned, often 'emerging' capital performs vital social/politial roles and whose survival is crucial in sustaining elite rule, this paper advances a third model of the globalisation-regionalism relationship. Developmental regionalism, which draws on stategic trade theory from the International Economics discipline, describes and approach to regionalism in which an initial period of partial and temporary resistance to global competition is employed to build up domestic firms able to eventually engage in global competition. In particular, it was to preserve domestic businesses that were closely allied with members of the political/ruling elite that led certain member goverments in ASEAN to advocate a developmental role for AFTA through its investment liberalisation programme, while still using the regional tariff liberalisation component programme as the 'carrot' to attract FDI.
author2 S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies
author_facet S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies
Helen E. S. Nesadurai
format Working Paper
author Helen E. S. Nesadurai
author_sort Helen E. S. Nesadurai
title Attempting developmental regionalism through AFTA : the domestic politics - domestic capital nexus
title_short Attempting developmental regionalism through AFTA : the domestic politics - domestic capital nexus
title_full Attempting developmental regionalism through AFTA : the domestic politics - domestic capital nexus
title_fullStr Attempting developmental regionalism through AFTA : the domestic politics - domestic capital nexus
title_full_unstemmed Attempting developmental regionalism through AFTA : the domestic politics - domestic capital nexus
title_sort attempting developmental regionalism through afta : the domestic politics - domestic capital nexus
publishDate 2009
url https://hdl.handle.net/10356/104461
http://hdl.handle.net/10220/4431
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