Abstract

In light of the Eurozone crisis and the growth of Asian economies, have new challenges emerged for the relations between nations in these regions? As the Asian consumer class grows and its culture globalizes, what does this mean for the export of Eurocentric values and norms? And what does the future hold for the economic, political, and cultural policies between these two powerful regions?

This book explores the relationship between European and emerging Asian economies, as globalization changes the international economic and political landscape. Reflecting on past interactions and possibilities for the future, the book brings together Asian and European perspectives from former politicians, diplomats, and academic experts to examine questions around trade and security, rights and climate change, identity clashes, and the colonial legacy. The book is a timely consideration of highly topical questions that will shape international politics in the twenty-first century.


“This is a very valuable book and its claim that it makes a unique contribution to the field is justified. […] The overall impression is of an elegant and unified work”
The remarkable group of authors, four diplomats, two politicians, four academics, and two public figures with close ties to policy formation, from 11 countries, lived and worked through this era. They bring a top-level practitioners perspective into the shaping of the post-Cold War polycentric world order with Asia finding itself and Europe trying to revive its lost glory.
The challenges facing Europe-Asia relations are multifarious, especially at a time when Europe and Asia are both facing serious internal problems, and this book highlights them with a directness which is rare in academic volimes. As a result, it should be read widely in Asia and Europe if the relations between the world’s two major continents are to shape the future of the world.
This is an excellent overview of relationships between Europe and Asia, which are exceptionally important but too frequently undervalued. Asian countries will play an increasingly vital role in shaping the 21st century and it is imperative that Europe should develop partnerships with them
Lord Christopher Patten, Former Governor of Hong Kong, EU Commissioner, former Chairman of the BBC trust, Presently Chancellor of Oxford University
Erixon and Srinivasan have assembled a strong team of political scientists, economists, public intellectuals and policy practitioners to reflect and ponder on cooperation between two important poles of the international political economy - the EU and rising Asia. This volume, coming 20 years after the EU’s first “Asia Strategy” paper and in the midst of the euro crisis, makes a timely contribution to appreciating and understanding Europe’s role in an Asian century.
Reuben Wong, Jean Monnet Chair in European Integration and Foreign Policy, National University of Singapore
Many books have been written about the somewhat underperforming “strategic partnership” between India and the European Union. [This book] is a refreshing addition to the list. It gives a no-nonsense account of the state of affairs between the two regions that together make up for 60 percent of the world’s population.
This volume, featuring a refreshingly diverse set of highly knowledgeable contributors, addresses a gap in much global scholarship and commentary: the relationship between Europe, particularly the EU, and much of Asia. The fact that the EU is largely absent outside the spheres of commerce, tourism and high culture seems to bother neither set of regional actors unduly. This book explains why.
David Malone, Rector of the United Nations University and Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations
[A] welcome addition to the growing literature on EU-Asia relations. It examines the problems and opportunities facing the EU as it grapples with a continent containing 60% of the world’s population and likely to contain 60% of the world’s middle class in less than two decades … One of the advantages of the book is the mix of authors, including experts and policy makers from both continents.
This book gives a fresh and as comprehensive an insight as anyone engaged in the study or practice of international relations would wish to have as a working tool. It could not have come at a better time and cannot be too highly recommended either as a study companion or as a ready reference book in international relations management and practice, as well as politics and trade.
Erixon and Srinivasan, and their collaborators, have produced a rare book: intricate and elegant; optimistic and realistic; descriptive and prescriptive. They avoid both the familiar European bias of assuming that the EU is the height of political evolution, as well as the new Asian bias of conflating rapid growth with full human development. Instead, they tell the complex story of how diverse European states are engaging with -- and often disagreeing with -- their diverse Asian counterparts. That web of interactions is creating a new pattern for experimental globalization -- one that, on balance, may be less dynamic than optimists have hoped, but more stable than pessimists have feared.
William Antholis, Director and CEO of the Miller Center of Public Affairs, University of Virginia. Former managing director of the Brookings Institution.
“It is indispensable reading both for those managing this complex process and for those in Europe and Asia seeking to understand better the interaction of the political, economic and personal dimensions of this process. […] The book provides unique insight, advancing a nuanced view from experts with extensive experience managing affairs of state in both Europe and Asia.”
As the geopolitical foundations of the world order shift, there can be little doubt that Asia will play a defining role in the next century and beyond. In the academic and policymaking worlds, the realization of this reality has given rise to a raft of texts analyzing the future of Asia. Most have focused on the rise of China and that country’s relations with the U.S. and its Asian neighbors, while some of have taken on the subject of emerging Asia as a whole. Europe in Emerging Asia makes an important and unique contribution to this growing body of work by illuminating the often neglected subject of relations between Asia and Europe. The book draws on contributions from a broad roster of accomplished scholars and foreign policy practitioners from both continents. Their perspectives range widely in professional, cultural, and geographical background, which ensures that . . . the book leaves no stone unturned in analyzing the complicated contours of relations between the two continents. Readers will come away with both a greatly enhanced understanding of relations between Europe and emerging Asia and a renewed appreciation of the importance of strengthening the ties between the two. . . .[T]he book is impressive in both its breadth and its depth, and the topics of its chapters vary just as widely as the background of its authors. . . .Overall, Europe in Emerging Asia is an illuminating and essential read for policymakers and academics interested in the intersection of the two continents. It also does an excellent job of explaining why the relationship between the two continents is so critical for those who may not have been previously interested. Readers will come away with an in-depth knowledge of the big-picture strategic relations between the two continents, more granular detail on the situation in individual countries, and an understanding of how the relationship affects the world beyond Europe and emerging Asia. Finally, they will gain an appreciation of the vexing challenges presented by incoherent European policy and insufficient depth in the relationship, and finish the volume armed with the tools needed to overcome these persistent obstacles.
Europe and Asia are each undergoing major change. That is a statement of the obvious, as is the fact that comparing their development is difficult. The great strength of this study of the relationships between Europe and Asia is that it is approached with a fine measure of detachment. The point is made clearly in the introduction, which refers to the absence of undisputed definitions of what emerging Asia and Europe comprise as regional. In addition to the introduction, there are twelve chapters, dealing with different aspects of the subject. Each chapter follows a pattern, with different headed sections, and a conclusion, which makes comparison much easier — and which reflects the professional skill of the editors.
“Europe in Emerging Asia, edited by Fredrik Erixon and Krishnan Srinivasan, is a challenging assignment. […] But the essays offer some useful hints”
“Given the significance of these regions in the years to come, a body of work that interrogates Europe and Asia’s mutual engagements is of immense significance. It is exactly what Fredrik Erixon and Krishnan Srinivasan’s compilation of scholarly essays, titled Europe in Emerging Asia accomplishes.”
Fredrik Erixon is director and co-founder of the European Centre for International Political Economy at Brussels. He has worked as adviser to the British Government; and at the office of the prime minister of Sweden, in the World Bank and at JP Morgan.

Krishnan Srinivasan is a former Indian foreign secretary and deputy secretary-general of the Commonwealth. He is presently a visiting professor at ASCI Hyderabad and fellow at the Abul Kalam Azad Institute of Asian Studies at Kolkata.


“One of the benefits of this statistic-filled collection is that China does not get all the attention. Krishnan Srinivasan, joint editor, provides an erudite analysis of Europe-India relations, […] looking at the way much of the discourse has been mediated by the historic UK-Indian connection, lamenting that authoritarian China appears better loved than democratic India, and acknowledging the role of Indian diasporas in Europe.”
A key issue of our time is whether and how a hitherto Western-dominated international order can accommodate the rising states of Asia. Most of the analysis of this question to date has been devoted to relations between the USA and China. This important book offers valuable insights into relations between the European Union and Asia, and the EU's role - or lack of one - in the development of a new world economic and political order.
Anatol Lieven, Georgetown University
“[T]his book covers much new ground even as it presents illuminating insights into perspectives discussed elsewhere. Its value lies in the concise manner in which it covers ties between two continents”
“Europe in Emerging Asia is a valuable academic achievement that will contribute to the study of EU-Asia relations.”