Nonhegemonic Cooperation in East Asian Financial Governance: Interpreting Power and Practicing Power Relations

-Prof. Dr. Yong Wook Lee (Department of Political Science and International Relations, Korea University)

Abstract:

On May 12^th, 2009, finance ministers of ASEAN plus Three (China, Japan, and Korea) unanimously agreed to multilateralize the Chiang Mai Initiative, a network of bilateral currency swaps in the region. Subsequently, the CMIM (Chiang Mai Initiative Multilateralization) started to function from March 24^th, 2010. What is interesting about this new multilateral scheme is non-hegemonic institutional arrangement of contribution size and voting share. By “non-hegemonic” I mean there is no single hegemonic actor who can set agendas and exercise veto power for institutional decisions: veto power requires one-third of voting share in the CMIM, but no country enjoys such a share in the current arrangement.

What explains non-hegemonic cooperation in the CMIM? Drawing on the performative analysis of power that explores how the end of power politics can be linked to actors’ shared conception of what power politics is, I argue that non-hegemonic cooperation of East Asian states derives from their shared sense of what power politics is and what power politics should be in institutionalizing their financial cooperation. I extend this sight to the examination of the governance structure of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) for further exploration. This empirical extension is intended to identify and sharpen the conditions of nonhegemonic cooperation.

About the lecturer:

Yong Wook Lee is a Professor in the Department of Political Science and International Relations at Korea University (Seoul, Korea). His research examines East Asian financial regionalism and the financial diplomacy of China, Japan, and Korea. Lee is the author, editor, and translator of seven books and has published numerous articles and book chapters in academic journals and edited volumes. His recent publications include “Status Quo Crisis Again? RMB Challenges and Dollar Hegemony (New Political Economy, 2024),” “Experience, Communication, and Collective Action: Financial Autonomy and Capital Market Development in East Asia (New Political Economy, 2022),” and “Performing Civilizational Narratives in East Asia: Asian Values, Multiple Modernities, and the Politics of Economic Development (Review of International Studies, 2020).” Lee holds a Ph.D. in International Relations at the University of Southern California. He held visiting positions at the University of Tokyo, Tüebingen University (Germany), and Korea National Defense University. Before coming to Korea University, Lee previously taught at the University of Oklahoma and Brown University.