Another essay ...

This time it is on whether Asian Foreign Policies are basically Trade Policies.

This essay took a lot of time cos I have to compile statistics and create tables and graphs to try to impress my lecturer. Hopefully I can stun him with the work I did and he would be more lenient in grading the paper :P

Sorry there is going to be another one more essay coming up. Sigh ... my life right now seems to be about writing essays rather than anything else. Sad really.

Here is my conclusion (edited for your viewing pleasure):

We can propose a general hypothesis about when a country’s foreign policies are dominated by trade policies. Trade policies would dominate when a country, without much resource, enters the development phase. The country would want to maintain a peaceful environment to pursue its development objectives. This would most often entail a neutral and bland foreign policy as the country would not be able to properly separate economic and political goals. Trade policies would supersede its foreign policies especially if the country subscribes to an export oriented industrial policy. International environment and external influences also affect a country’s use of trade policies. The general orthodoxy of economic liberalism, coupled with the trend towards economic regionalism and bilateralism, has created an environment where trade issues are becoming more important. The military support of the US and its support for economic liberalism during the Cold War have also contributed to the dominance of trade policies among Asian foreign policies.

Presumably, when it becomes developed, the country will proceed to ‘higher’ forms of politics. However, Singapore will not change its reliance on trade policy, as the domestic constraints will always be present. Conversely, there may be a reverse in the dominance of trade policies in Japanese foreign policies. Japan exhibit signs of decreasing their reliance on trade policy and increasing the role of their military force. However, Japan’s shift to other non-trade policies tools will be a slow process. Moreover, the trend towards economic regionalism and bilateralism will continue to place a great importance on trade policies. Although many countries hope to engage China in trade activities and make it more economically interdependent, trade policies will not dominate Chinese foreign policies. The military force will remain an important instrument to execute Chinese foreign affairs. Short of a drastic change in international system, Asian countries without any alternative tools will continue to use trade policies.