THE RUSSIAN ACADEMIC JOURNAL » Архив номеров » The Russian Academic Journal #4, том 26, 2013 » Публикация

Аннотация Abstract: Globalization has had a significant on the dynamics of trade. Moreover, these effects have also brought with it negative externalities that exacerbate a country’s propensity towards conflict. Countries today face new threats to security that were not included in a traditional security matrix: piracy, smuggling, transnational criminal organizations, cyber-attacks, terrorism, and ethnic/religious movements. Moreover, there are natural threats such as epidemics, climate change, and natural disasters. These threats all require greater cooperation among countries in a region. One mechanism that creates a pathway for a greater level of cooperation is through regional economic integration. The second half of the twentieth century was characterized by unprecedented progress towards global and regional integration. As a result regional institutions have been established to capture the network effect of economic integration as a means for greater cooperation on traditional and non-traditional security threats. Increasing economic interdependence, as a consequence of globalization, means that countries no longer find themselves in a zero-sum world. While much focus has been given to the link between economic interdependence and conflict, less has been given to the processes. The purpose of this paper is to explore the link between economic integration and conflict. Using intraregional trade share as a proxy measure for economic integration, regression analysis is conducted to examine this relationship among 31 countries in East and Southeast Asia. The quantitative analysis is followed by case study of ASEAN to lend support to the analysis and to explore the practicalities of building a security community in East Asia examining ASEAN’s capabilities for dealing with traditional security challenges, specifically, inter-state conflict.