ABSTRACT
THIS CHAPTER INVESTIGATES AND EXAMINES FIVE ISSUES-NAMELY functionalism, regional integration, interdependence, global civil society and NGOs-in order to construct theoretical foundations. These issues, and the concepts outlined in Chapter I, will help explore the feasibility and desirability of establishing a regional human rights arrangement in East Asia. The overall attempt is to better understand the prospects for the establishment of a regional human rights mechanism in East Asia, or elsewhere in Asia. For this study, East Asia includes the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRk), the Republic of Korea (ROK), Japan, the Republic of China (ROC), the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and the Mongolian Republic. This area incorporates approximately a quarter of the world’s population.
