Jeju Peace Institute

CHOI Jinwoo(Professor, Hanyang University)

Amidst the worldwide trend towards new regionalism, Northeast Asia has seen very slow progress with regard to any instituted form of regional integration, the reason for which has been attributed to a strong sense of nationalism. For the Northeast Asian nations that still remain within the framework of modern international relations, maintaining their sovereignty is a vital national interest, and thus they share concern that the pursuit of regional integration and its associated potential for encroachment on sovereignty could undermine the legitimacy of their regimes. Such concern is based on the assumption that it is nationalism that shores up the legitimacy of their regimes, and that since regionalism and nationalism are bound up in a mutually exclusive relationship, the political leaders of East Asia are inherently reluctant to promote regionalism in the region. However, the fact remains that there has been quite significant opposition to connecting the links of nationalism, legitimacy and regionalism. Moreover, should regional integration have a chance of serving as a prescription for both regional economic prosperity and political peace, the regional powers in East Asia should join forces to broaden the discourse on regionalism in the region and promote the building of ‘an imagined community’ as the regional identity of East Asia.