Whose Ideas Matter? Agency and Power in Asian Regionalism

The author of this concise and extremely well-referenced study asks an important question: "Why do some emerging ideas and norms find acceptance ... while others do not?" The issue is examined with reference to "two puzzles" concerning Asian post-war institutional architecture: why there isn't a regional multilateral security organization and why Asia's regional institutions remain "soft." Amitav Acharya employs the concept of "constitutive localization" from international relations theory, referring broadly to the process by which international norms are adapted to suit local circumstances and actors.