关系、网络与合作实践:清谈如何产生效力

Relations, Networks and Cooperative Practice: How Talking Shops Produce Effect?A Study of Soft Institutionalism in East Asia

软性制度主义是东亚地区进程的突出特征,指合作的制度化程度不高,非正式性强,往往也被称为清谈。然而,东亚一体化在过去20多年发展迅猛,在制度建设和功能合作领域成果丰富。清谈式的软性制度进程是否真的可以推动合作?又是怎样产生合作效力的?国际关系学界对软性制度主义和清谈尚未进行严肃系统的研究,无法提供令人满意的答案。作者借鉴世界政治的关系理论和实践理论,试图建立一个清谈理论模型。依据过程建构主义的基本假定,清谈是一种以关系为核心的软性制度主义国际合作实践。清谈建立、发展和维护关系,形成关系网络;在关系过程中,关系的生产和再生产性决定了关系网络的自觉自我维护,关系理性推动关系中的行为体通过互惠与和谐机制实现合作,即便是在困难时期,也可以维持合作的关系过程不变。关系是清谈模型的核心,是实践本体,是合作进化的逻辑、动力和目标。东亚第二轨道进程——东亚思想库网络——就是验证上述理论假设的很好案例。

As a distinctive feature in East Asian regional process,soft institutionalism refers to a relatively low level of institutionalization in cooperation. East Asian regional institutions are hence often called talking shops. However, soft institutionalism has demonstrated its dynamism and effectiveness over the past two decades in East Asia,where both institution-building and functional cooperation have witnessed rapid and significant development. It seems that not only talking,but also actions have been taken at talking shops. Then, how is effective cooperation produced there? And a further question may be how soft institutionalism works. Existing international relations theories cannot offer satisfying answers to these questions. Taking advantage of the relational theory and practice theory of world politics,the paper attempts to build a theoretical model of talking shops as a preliminary study of soft institutionalism. Accepting the basic assumptions of processual constructivism,the paper argues that talking shops are international practices of cooperation and soft institutionalism, where relations are the core. At talking shops,relations and relational networks are built,maintained and developed. On the one hand,the productive and reproductive nature of relations leads to the conscious self-maintenance of relations and relational networks. On the other,agents in relations and relational networks tend to follow relational rationality and cooperate through reciprocity and harmonization of interests and relations. Even in difficult times,the cooperative process with relations at the core can be maintained. As the key to the theoretical model of talking shops and soft institutionalism,relations are practices in ontology,and the logic,motive power and goal of cooperative evolution. The paper takes a track Ⅱ process and typical talking shop, the Network of East Asian Think-tanks( NEAT),as a case to test the proposed model. Through process tracing,the study shows that NEAT,in practice of cooperative relations,has proven effective in both producing highly relevant policy recommendations and building needed institutions.