ABSTRACT
The most recent global financial crisis broke out in August 2007 with the collapse of the subprime mortgage market in the United States. The crisis led to economic declines not only in the United States but also in other developed economies such as Japan and Europe, as well as in developing economies within East Asia and other regions. The situation deteriorated after September 2008, following the default of Lehman Brothers and the government rescue of the insurance firm American International Group (AIG). Economic turmoil in Greece and its request in April 2010 for International Monetary Fund (IMF) financial support have worsened the economic downturn in Europe, evoking pessimistic prospects for the world economy. The crisis has had severe impacts both globally and regionally. For East Asian countries, however, the current economic crisis is really their “second crisis” following the Asian financial crisis in 1997. And both crises have been intimately linked to East Asian conceptions of security and national vulnerability.
