Asia in Washington: Exploring the Penumbra of Transnational Power

10. Policy Implications

10 Policy Implications As has become clear over the past nine chapters, paradox abounds in the transnational politics of Washington. Emerging historically from a distinctly parochial heritage, the District of Columbia has grown to become one of the most global of cities. In conventional realist terms, however, many of the largest and most powerful nations in the world have less visibility and influence within its confines than some of the smallest and seemingly most insignificant. Many of the greatest sociopolitical paradoxes in America’s national capital relate to the subject of this volume: Asia in Washington. Asia lies on the other side of the globe from Washington, but appears to be intensely and unusually concerned about local developments in America ’s national capital. Asia’s myriad cultures are all markedly distinct from that of the United States, yet Asian representatives strive insistently to enter the Washington mainstream. Washington, for its part, appears in its internal functioning to have a reciprocal interest in a part of the world to which it has remarkably limited historic ties. In this concluding chapter, I recount the central problem for analysis : understanding Washington as a global political city, encompassing much more than the U.S. government, in a complex relationship with the nations of Asia. This problem, as I noted at the outset, is significant from a global standpoint. Several countries of Asia, including China, India, Japan, and Korea, are rising actors in the international system, and their interaction with the unofficial penumbra of power in Washington critically shapes the pace and contours of their 268 10-2538-1 ch10.indd 268 3/12/14 4:14 PM Policy Implications 269 ascent. Growing economic and military power alone does not guarantee them entrée. Asian interactions with Washington are both intense and globally significant for three special reasons. First, the United States is a global superpower, with a highly permeable and relatively transparent domestic political process that is unusually accessible to outside interests. Second, Washington is an unusually convenient venue for bilateral, multilateral , and private sector political-economic transactions, including those engaging multilateral actors like the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. And finally, Washington is a useful site for global NGO agenda setting, due to the presence of U.S. policymaking, the presence of powerful multilateral institutions, and the presence of globally influential mass media, universities, think tanks, and NGOs, which help confer legitimacy on and conformity to worldwide standards. Mode of Analysis The analytical objective of this volume, as outlined in the introduction , is to understand how various Asian nations have responded to the challenge of representing their interests in the changing sociopolitical environment of Washington in the post–cold war world. The first half of the book outlines how Washington itself has evolved, as an increasingly globalized sociopolitical community, over the past thirty years. The latter half of the book considers comparatively how Asian nations, both large and small, respond to this transformation and the relative efficacy of the tools they employ in that effort. As Robert Dahl and others note, there are multiple dimensions of political influence in the world, and those dimensions do not necessarily covary. In this research I focus on two central aspects: one, visibility; and two, the positive decisions by the U.S. government on matters of importance to the nations in question. I chronicle examples of visibility from a comparative perspective: congressional hearings, media coverage , and leadership addresses at joint sessions of Congress. I also examine concrete cases of decisions demonstrating Asian influence, such as free trade agreements and mutual security treaties. Chapter 6 lists five hypotheses regarding the origins of Asian influence in Washington. These hypotheses are examined in eight country 10-2538-1 ch10.indd 269 3/12/14 4:14 PM 270 Policy Implications cases in chapters 7 and 8. These putative explanations for national influence in Washington policy outcomes include the following: —Realist criteria, such as GNP, population, and military spending —Diplomatic capabilities, as measured by embassy size and alliance relationships —Classical lobbying efforts, as indicated by number of registered agents and related spending —Personal networks in Washington —Agenda-setting influence Indicators suggesting the magnitude of effort in each category are given. Findings Through the analytical process outlined above, two main intellectual targets are addressed: theory, primarily in international political economy, and comparative public policy, both in the United States and among America’s diplomatic partners, especially those of...