Crises and Their Consequences

For much of the period following the Second World War, most of the East Asian region was synonymous with rapid, largely unexpected economic development. However, much of the positive commentary — and selfpromotion — that occurred as the ‘Asian miracle’ spread from Northeast to Southeast Asia suddenly disappeared following the economic crisis that engulfed the region in the late 1990s. The crisis itself was consequently a profoundly important event in the history of the region. Ironically enough, however, its aftermath arguably did more than anything else in fact to help create a sense of a distinctive East Asian region — though this came at the cost of tremendous damage to the region’s material circumstances and reputation. Devastating as the crisis was for much of the region, it is remarkable how quickly it re-emerged as a key centre of global economic activity. Indeed, when a second ‘global financial crisis’ (GFC) hit the region in the late 2000s, the region not only proved to be comparatively immune to its impact, but it was widely seen as one of the few bright spots and potential growth engines in the global economy.