regionalism, tacit knowledge, constructivism, East Asia

Where the theory of international relations failed in anticipating the fall of the Soviet Empire, the theories of regionalism present few analytical tools to reach beyond formal information, and thus fail in predicting the current shortcomings of regionalism. It is argued that in East Asia two types of tacit knowledge are shaping the regional arrangement; in spreading the ideas of regionalism local norms would affect the level of acceptance, and among the top level ?regionalism-talk? the only common nominator would be lack of realism.