The currency and market turmoils in East Asia over the last nine months are every bit as much political crises as they are economic ones. Indeed, the political manifestations of these events may linger long after the necessary economic reforms have been introduced to return at least a semblance of economic normalcy to the region. In this paper I attempt to identify and assess some of the longer term political implications. I try to do so through what I think are Asian tinted lenses rather than Anglo American ones. As such, the paper offers an alternative reading of the East Asian economic crisis to that which exists in the mainstream of western policy analysis. It may also appear partial. But perceptions matter in politics and the perceptions I wish to present are, I would suggest, close to the hearts of many influential members of the East Asian public and private sector policy making elites. As such they are likely to influence the future of national economic policies in the region.

In section one, while accepting that particularist explanations have to apply on a country by country basis, the paper outlines those aspects of the crisis that appear common to all the countries notably, Thailand, South Korea, Indonesia and to a lesser extent Malaysia and the Philippines affected to-date. It also highlights the importance of the silent but fundamental role of Japan as a factor in the crisis. In addition, and notwithstanding the real/ material explanations of the crisis, it argues in a highly contentious fashion I concede that the crisis is in large part an ideological one that reflects a western conceptual inability to deal with the resistance of the Asian model of economic development to converge to, and conform with, an Anglo American form of capitalism.