East Asian Governance: Human Security, Development, and Exceptionalism

According to a report by the Commission on Global Governance, ‘Governance is the sum of the many ways individuals and institutions, public and private, manage their common affairs’(1995:2). It is an ongoing and evolutionary process which looks to reconcile conflicting interests in order to protect the weak from unjust exploitation through the rule of law, and introduce security for all. Governance is also a process through which collective goods are generated so that all are better off than they would be acting individually. Thus governance implies a concern by those who govern with both the human security and development of those who are governed. In many cases, East Asian countries have prioritized economic development over social or political development. While this econophoria (whereby the solution of all society’s ills is sought through economic development) has contributed to remarkable patterns of economic growth, it has also seen the rise in importance of challenges to human security in both absolute and relative terms (Buzan &Segal 1998:107).