Journal of Peace Research Book Review on 'The Role of Knowledge Communities in Constructing Asia-Pacific Security' by S. S. Tan

Review: Tan, See Seng, 2007. The Role of Knowledge Communities in Constructing Asia-Pacific Security: How Thoughts and Talk Make War and Peace.] The book’s major contribution lies in building theoretical foundations providing alternative conceptions of security discourse between Track Two diplomacy and official policy process in the Asia-Pacific. Knowledge communities in question are primarily the Council for Security Cooperation in the Asia Pacific (CSCAP) and the ASEAN Institutes of Strategic and International Studies (ASEAN-ISIS). The author takes a radical constructivist view of the discourses of such knowledge communities, arguing that Track Two diplomacy and its practices are neither autonomous subjects nor passive recipients; they are not agents freely shaping national and regional security through instrumental actions or simply preserving prior structural functions and identities.