Yik Pern, Reuben Wong
Email Address
polwongr@nus.edu.sg
Organizational Units
UNIV ADMIN
faculty
ARTS & SOC SC
faculty
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Publication Model power or reference point? The EU and the ASEAN Charter(2012-12) Wong, R.; POLITICAL SCIENCESeveral scholars have suggested that ASEAN's institutionalization can be attributed to the EU's influence as a 'model power'. The notion of the EU as a model power is premised on the assumption and belief that Europe's history of regional cooperation presents a viable blueprint for other regions. This article argues that the EU exerts some power over ASEAN-but merely as a 'reference point'. The EU's influence is not an active one; the organisation essentially serves as a passive reference point for ASEAN. The obvious and arguably most important example of this referencing is the framing of the ASEAN Charter in 2007. This article disagrees with scholars who reduce ASEAN's institutionalization to an imitation of the EU form without the substance. Instead, it shows how ASEAN has innovated as a regional organization through its Charter and Intergovernmental Human Rights Commission. © 2012 Copyright Centre of International Studies.Publication The Issue of Identity in the EU-China Relationship(CAIRN, 2013) Wong, Reuben; Assoc Prof Wong Yik Pern, Reuben; COLLEGE OF ALICE AND PETER TANPublication University Challenged - Lessons to Learn from Singapore(Institut Montaigne, 2021-04-15) Wong Yik Pern,Reuben; MARIANA GABRIELA LOSADA-B; Assoc Prof Yik Pern, Reuben Wong; LEE KUAN YEW SCHOOL OF PUBLIC POLICY; COLLEGE OF ALICE AND PETER TANinaugural blogpost on Institut Montaigne's (France) "University Challenged" series, on what policy makers could learn from the higher education scene in Singapore.Publication Regional variation and crisis: comparing EU and ASEAN integration dynamics(European Consortium for Political Research, 2020-01-28) Irrera, Daniela; Wong Yik Pern,Reuben; Assoc Prof Yik Pern, Reuben Wong; COLLEGE OF ALICE AND PETER TANThe notion of regional integration has always animated the scholarly debate in the previous decades and continues to raise controversial queries. The accretion of functional powers to international organizations (IOs) and bodies outside the state has been a slow and steady process that has produced different levels of commitment and various theoretical and practical implications, depending on the regions and their political and social systems. They demand more decision-making prerogatives, moving the locus of important decisions in functional and sensitive areas like trade, visa monitoring, counter-terrorism away from states and into international arenas. This process has taken place in both the European Union and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations since the 1990s. This is in spite of heightened anti-supranational sentiments in many states in Europe, and the foundational norm of intergovernmental decision-making in Southeast Asia. This paper contributes to the current discussion by deepening the theoretical dimension and offering some potentially new insights about integration dynamics in the EU and in Southeast Asia. It addresses two main research questions: 1. To what extent does crisis continue to be the major driver in the process of supranational integration? 2. How do regional factors mediate the impact of crisis on integration outcomes in the EU and ASEAN? The paper is divided into three parts. Firstly, the scholarship on the impact of crisis on integration process is critically assessed. Secondly, the basic argument that under certain conditions, crisis leads to greater integration rather than disintegration, is evaluated, based on the setting up of new supranational institutions and the movement of more decisions and policy area outside the control of the nation-state. These criteria are then applied to the EU and ASEAN to understand regional variations in the impact of crisis on integration dynamics, and their implications in the most sensitive policy issues.Publication Towards a common European policy on China? Economic, diplomatic and human rights trends since 1985(2011-02-01) Wong, R; Assoc Prof Wong Yik Pern, Reuben; COLLEGE OF ALICE AND PETER TANThis article argues against the received view of European Union-China relations as hostage to historical rivalries and competing national interests between EU member states. It analyzes the trends in the EU's economic, political and human rights policies towards China since the 1985 European Community-China Trade and Cooperation Agreement was signed. By focusing on the interactions between three major member states with significant interests in China-Germany, France and the UK-and the Europeanization pressures which undercut national leaders' powers, and shape their preferences and options, it argues that there has in fact been significant convergence in the policies of the major EU states and the European Commission towards China. © 2009 by Nova Science Publishers, Inc. All Rights Reserved.Publication Palm Oil: A Case for Conciliation over Confrontation(Asia Global Institute, 2021-04-15) Wong Yik Pern,Reuben; Nanoo, Ahvineesh; Assoc Prof Yik Pern, Reuben Wong; COLLEGE OF ALICE AND PETER TANPublication Security Relations Between the EU and ASEAN(Springer Nature, 2021-01-01) Heiduk, F; Wong Yik Pern,Reuben; Assoc Prof Yik Pern, Reuben Wong; COLLEGE OF ALICE AND PETER TANThe global diffusion of internal and external security threats has accelerated demands for greater cooperation between states and regions. Since the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001 on the United States and the 2002 Bali bombings, ASEAN, the EU and their respective member states have repeatedly called for closer collaboration in foreign and security affairs. Numerous meetings, workshops and various joint declarations followed. Yet attempts to elevate ASEAN-EU relations to a formal strategic partnership have continually failed. Cooperation has been limited to official meetings, the exchange of best practices and the funding of ASEAN-based institutions by the EU and its member states. Against this background, the chapter will critically examine the record of ASEAN-EU security cooperation in counter-terrorism, regional security and environmental security. This chapter argues that the depth and scope of ASEAN-EU security cooperation are limited by diverging threat perceptions and, even more, by diverging policy responses at the member state level.Publication China's Rise: Making Sense of EU Responses(Informa UK Limited, 2013-01) Wong, Reuben; Assoc Prof Wong Yik Pern, Reuben; COLLEGE OF ALICE AND PETER TANPublication Steering Towards the Internationalisation of Higher Education: Lessons From Pedagogical Interventions in Overseas Experiential Learning Programmes(2022-06-30) Mukhopadhyay, kankana; Balachandran, Lavanya; Wong, Soon Fen; Lai, Chiu yun; Tan, Xue Yun Angie; McGahan, Kevin; Toh, Tai Chong; Wong, YP Reuben; Tan, Lai Yong; Dr Tai Chong Toh; COLLEGE OF ALICE AND PETER TANPublication The relativity of decline: A reappraisal of French leadership and influence in a time of global crisis(2012-03) Wong, R.; Sonntag, A.; POLITICAL SCIENCEThis article is an attempt, in the context of the Eurozone crisis that has shaken Europe since 2008, to explore and deconstruct two pieces of conventional wisdom on French leadership in Europe and the world. The stereotypical image of a country in decline and denial, out of touch with today's globalised world, is reproduced so often in the Anglo-American media and even in scholarly discourse, that is has become a self-evident truism. The article examines this truism in two different perspectives: there is, on the one hand, the axiom that France has lost influence in Europe and that the balance of power has shifted inexorably to Germany and, on the other hand, the axiom that Europe does not matter in the global 'power shift' and that, as part of Europe, France does not count any more either. In questioning the origins and validity of these axioms, the authors argue that a strong perception bias persists and is constantly perpetuated even though reality has changed. Not only has France rather successfully adapted to globalisation in both political and economic terms, but it has also found new ways and discourses about its role as Germany's partner in leadership in the European Union. The paper goes on to show that both France and the EU retain and use significant levers for action in three dimensions of power-coercion, agenda-setting and attraction. It concludes that going into 2012, France remains an active and important actor, both in the EU and on the global scene. It is present and influential in major international institutions, effectively builds international coalitions and floats important ideas on reforming laissez-faire capitalism. © 2012 Springer-Verlag.