ABSTRACT
The currency and stock market collapses in East Asia of 1997–8 (especially Thailand, Indonesia, South Korea and Malaysia) have made it difficult for some Western analysts to disguise a certain Schadenfreude at the discomfort that comes in the wake of the escalating hubris—encapsulated in the ‘Asian Way’ and ‘Asian Miracle’ clichés—that accompanied East Asian growth throughout the 1990s. But narrowly economistic readings of these events ignore other secular trends that may even be consolidated by the economic shocks. One such trend is the prospect of continued development of an ‘East Asian’ as opposed to ‘Asia-Pacific’ understanding of region. To argue this case flies in the face of conventional realist wisdom that in times of crisis the national urge to act independently comes to the fore. But, it will be an argument of this chapter that the enhancement of greater collective regional understanding in the. wake of the economic crisis is not incompatible with the desire for strengthened national decision making autonomy in the face of crisis.
