A Region of Regimes: Prosperity and Plunder in the Asia-Pacific

252 Pages·2021·1.804 MB·English

by  T. J. Pempel

A Region of Regimes
A volume in the series
Cornell Studies in Po liti cal Economy
Edited by Peter J. Katzenstein
A list of titles in this series is available at cornellpress . cornell . edu.
A Region of Regimes
Prosperity and Plunder
in the Asia- Pacific
T. J. Pempel
Cornell University Press
Ithaca and London
Copyright © 2021 by Cornell University
All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in a review, this book,
or parts thereof, must not be reproduced in any form without permission
in writing from the publisher. For information, address Cornell
University Press, Sage House, 512 East State Street, Ithaca, New York
14850. Visit our website at cornellpress . cornell . edu.
First published 2021 by Cornell University Press
Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data
Names: Pempel, T. J., 1942– author.
Title: A region of regimes : prosperity and plunder in the Asia-Pacific /
T.J. Pempel.
Description: Ithaca [New York] : Cornell University Press, 2021. |
Series: Cornell studies in political economy | Includes bibliographical
references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2021006020 (print) | LCCN 2021006021 (ebook) |
ISBN 9781501758799 (hardcover) | ISBN 9781501758805 (paperback) |
ISBN 9781501758829 (pdf) | ISBN 9781501758812 (epub)
Subjects: LCSH: East Asia—Economic conditions—Regional dispari-
ties. | Southeast Asia—Economic conditions—Regional disparities. |
East Asia—Economic policy—20th century. | East Asia—Economic
policy—21st century. | Southeast Asia—Economic policy—20th
century. | Southeast Asia—Economic policy—21st century.
Classification: LCC HC460.5 .P44 2021 (print) | LCC HC460.5
(ebook) | DDC 330.95—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021006020
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021006021
For my wife, Kaela,
whose unwavering support has been invaluable

Contents
Preface ix
Introduction 1
PART ONE
1. Developmental Regimes: Japan, K orea, and Taiwan 25
2. Ersatz Developmental Regimes: Malaysia, Indonesia,
and Thailand 49
3. R apacious Regimes: Plunder over Prosperity: Philippines,
North K orea, and Myanmar 73
PART TWO
4. Developmental Regimes Reconstructed 115
5. China: Composite Regime? 142
6. Regimes and the Regional Order 167
Notes 189
Index 227
vii

Preface
Anyone who has attempted to write a book has experienced the frustrating
sense of powerlessness that arises when the book starts to take control of its
own movements. Initially reactive to the author’s slightest touch, the manu-
script mutates into a runaway eighteen- wheeler on ice defying the most daunt-
ing authorial efforts to regain control. This book has been no exception.
I originally conceptualized a more constricted set of prob lems and a more
limited geography. Yet every exploration demanded closer attention to an ex-
panding universe of cognate issues and unexplained variations. This book
reflects the resulting interplay between my best efforts at control and the book’s
self- assertiveness. It is the product of long periods puzzling over a wide range
of regional po liti cal, economic, and security prob lems.
The book has its deepest roots in the fertile soil of po liti cal economy. Three
related puzzles have driven my analy sis. First, what are the most insightful sim-
ilarities and differences in the ways that individual nations have fused politics
and economics? Second, how have domestic and external forces interacted in
the shaping of those differences? Third, how has the Asia- Pacific region as a
whole influenced and reflected the ongoing interactions among dif fere nt na-
tional po liti cal economies?
I address these questions by analyzing the dramatic economic advances that
unfolded in successive waves among multiple countries of East Asia. The book
argues that understanding such successes requires attention to more than
economics per se. Instead, it demonstrates the interpenetration of po liti cal, so-
cioeconomic, and international forces that undergirded diverse national ex-
periences. While the book focuses on consistent patterns over long periods, it
also underscores key inflection points and transitions over time. Yet, the book
is not solely a story of successes; it analyzes as well several con spic u ous cases in
which national po liti cal economies, though exceptionally lucrative to a narrow
few, have failed the many.
ix