Human Rights and Governance

"We have high hopes that a union of peace and prosperity which is modelled after the European Union can be realised in Asia in the not-so-distant future. In Europe, we see the future of East Asia." - Mr. Ban Ki-Moon, then-Korean Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

OVERVIEW

This conference brought together 30 Asian and European scholars of democracy from 18 countries, who agreed that while there is growing evidence of a universally shared notion of democracy, there was still room for exploring the "Asian values" debate, which may still represent an East-West divide on democracy.

A conference highlight was the presentation of papers that showcased the findings from the Asia-Europe Survey of "basic societal values" and attitudes to globalisation among citizens, which was conducted at the end of year 2000. The survey covered 18 countries -- nine in Western Europe and nine in East/Southeast Asia -- and the results indicated that, on average, the differences in attitude are greater within each region rather than between the regions.

KEYNOTE SPEAKER

Mr. Ban Ki-Moon, then Korean Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade

KEY PRESENTERS

Prof. Jean Leca, former International Political Science Association (IPSA) President, Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris, France

Prof. Emeritus Jean Bondel, European University Institute of Florence, Italy

Prof. Takashi Inoguchi, University of Tokyo, Japan

SPONSORED/SUPPORTED BY

Korean Association of International Studies (KAIS)