Public policy in ‘the Asian Century Century’–the construct and conduct of administration, management and governance

摘要

@@ Introduction Australian public discourse – academic and popular – makes liberal use of the term ‘the Asian Century’, a term coined in the late 1980s but now almost ubiquitous in public analysis of the future balance of global hard and soft power. In September 2011 the federal government commissioned Ken Henry a former Secretary to the Treasury to prepare a White Paper on ‘Australia in the Asian Century’. The implications of ‘the Asian century’ for public policy are central to the terms of reference of this White Paper and to many of the ongoing academic debates. For most part the focus is on the implications for Australia’s foreign or economic policies, with consideration of the future role of regional institutions also a preoccupation, and some examination of what ‘the Asian century’ might mean for domestic cultural and (less often) education and social policy. The Conversation,an Australian web-based research, analysis and commentary resource authored by the academic and research sector, has ‘the Asian Century’ as a theme on its website and publishes a variety of articles addressing Australia and ‘the Asian Century’, most of which focus on the opportunities/challenges for Australia, though some pose broader and deeper questions e.g. David Walker’s (2012) challenge that claims of an ‘unprecedented Asia’ stem from a lack of attention amongst Australians to Australia/Asia relations over time, or John Lenarcic’s (2012) argument that ‘being Asian in the 21st century is a state of mind that should transcend anachronistic oriental imagery. It should offer a distinct Eastern world-view as a counterpoint to a traditional Western framework’.