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This book analyses collaboration in the Greater Mekong Subregion. It explores inter-state cooperation and the role of subnational units (provincial and local governments) and transnational actors (NGOs, firms) in building and maintaining the subregion. It also considers the relationships between actors on the three levels, their influences within the structures of decision-making in the GMS, their policy pronouncements and roles in the GMS.
After exploring the historical background of cooperation in the GMS, the author discusses how far cooperation in the GMS has developed from the mere promotion of the national interest of individual states towards an institution as an independent actor able to influence relationships between its member states instead of only being influenced by them. Hensengerth scrutinises the nature of GMS cooperation and the character and capabilities of the institution of the GMS, exemplified by the bilateral relations between China and Vietnam. Here, the study will combine the analysis of subregionalism and institution-building in the GMS with an analysis of China-Vietnam relations by combining theoretical approaches to regional integration in the form of the regime approach with foreign policy analysis
This book will appeal to academics within international relations, Southeast Asian regional and China or Vietnam country specialists.
List of contents
1. Introduction 2. Explaining Subregional Cooperation: Events, Concepts And The Mekong Basin 3. Water Cooperation, Security And International Regimes: An Analytical Framework For The Gms 4. History Of Mekong Cooperation: From Exclusion To Inclusion Via The China-Vietnam Dichotomy 5. Mekong Basin Cooperation: Current Development And Institutional Arrangements 6. The Gms And Foreign Policy: The China-Vietnam Dimension 7. Conclusion: China’s And Vietnam’s Foreign Policies And Subregionalism In The Greater Mekong Subregion
About the author
Oliver Hensengerth is a fellow at Chatham House, London. His research focuses on Chinese foreign and environmental policies, transboundary water cooperation, and regionalisation and international politics in the Mekong subregion.
Summary
Analyses collaboration in the Greater Mekong Subregion, which is a manifestation of the so-called ‘new regionalism’ in growth triangles (GTs) in Northeast and Southeast Asia. Exploring inter-state cooperation and the role of subnational units (provincial and local governments) and transnational actors (NGOs, firms) in building and maintaining the subregion.
Additional text
"The strength of the book is undoubtedly the parts dealing with collaborative attempts relating to the Mekong River and the GMS...The sections of the book dealing with the broader theoretical literature are solid and comprehensive." - Ramses Amer, Austrian Journal of South-East Asian Studies, 3(2) 2010
