CSR on the (Elite) Mind in East Asia

I am in the Singapore airport bound for Shanghai, reflecting on my visits to Manila, Jakarta, and Singapore. Three policemen armed with automatic weapons just walked by the free Internet stall to take the escalator downstairs.

I don't want to get carried away, but I am happy to say that issues such as the environment, human rights, and good governance are not confined to conversations in California, Washington DC, New York, Europe, and Japan. Every day, the local newspapers ran at least one article about the environment, climate change, and their popularization in ASEAN.

I read about an eco beauty pageant in Manila and about how Bangkok shut off its lights a couple of days ago to promote eco awareness. On the TV, I saw an ad in Manila (sponsored by the UNDP) against corruption and a music video in Jakarta promoting energy efficient light bulbs. In the cab ride the the airport this morning, the driver spoke about the environmental problems in Southeast Asia broadly, and said that he has never seen such bizarre weather in Singapore. Every businessman, scholar, and government official we interviewed acknowledged the importance of eco and human rights leadership in the world economy.

Now, I don't want to overstate the case. Clearly, the biggest problems facing many countries in ASEAN are poverty and political stability. I understand that I was reading newspapers in English, the TV was in English, our interviewees were elite, and the taxi driver was in fact from a highly educated family. But we should not forget how human rights abuses and environmental degradation can conflate with terrorism, corruption, and instability. The perfect storm could go something like this:

Imagine an area saturated with corruption (which is seen by investors as the number one problem in the Philippines). Officials take bribes from criminals, and gangs are allowed to arm undisturbed by law enforcement. They are able to prosper by engaging in illegal activities such as piracy or smuggling. Lack of equity creates resentment toward more successful groups in the society. An environmental disaster, such as a flood, destroys homes and makes people more receptive or vulnerable to a strongman. Gangs seize the opportunity to overthrow the local government. Martial law is declared, rights are curtailed, foreign direct investment flees, and a downward spiral of poverty and violence ensues.

It isn't that far fetched. All these issues are related.

A New Day for ASEAN?

I woke up today at dawn to the morning call to prayer in Jakarta.

Carnegie Endowment scholar Joshua Kurlantzick and I are traveling through Manila, Jakarta, and Singapore, asking businesspeople, government officials, journalists, and scholars what China's rise means for the future of ASEAN and business and human rights norms. The subtext is that China and Japan are trying to outdo one another in creating goodwill in this battleground for influence.

The topic of China's relationship with the developing world is very timely. I spoke at the New School's Project Africa program and at Wellesley College on the same subject last month. Kurlantzick also just published a book on China's soft power in Southeast Asia called Charm Offensive, and UCLA scholar Josh Eisenman will be presenting his new book on China and the developing world at the Carnegie Council this May.

In my mind, the question is: What will China's economic weight and activity do to business, environmental, and human rights norms around the world? Particularly since state to state war seems less and less likely in East Asia (or "unthinkable" as ASEAN puts it), rivalry between big powers falls into the more nuanced games of economic diplomacy, investment, institution building, and fighting nontraditional global security threats, such as climate change, pandemics, and piracy.

It could turn out to be a net positive in which China keeps trying to attract markets and business partners in areas previously believed to be the domain of Japan and the United States, such as Indonesia or Philippines. China may also build ties in areas in which the West will not go, such as Sudan. Or the story could end up in nasty rivalries, rampant suspicion, and a virtual cold war. But so far the tone is positive.

ASEAN is courting anyone who will dance—the United States, Japan, and China—in what some call "promiscuous diplomacy." Whether ASEAN can be the hub for a vision that increasingly seems to appreciate the importance of social responsibility at the upper levels will depend on whether ASEAN can become a more coherent, political entity. That in turn will depend on ASEAN resolving major debates on the noninterference principle and on decision-making by voting. It will also mean gluing together the world's largest Muslim democracy with tenacious Communist states, and exemplar market economies.

Whatever the outcome, ASEAN is waking to a new reality.