Cognitive "self" And "otherness" : The Evolution Of The East Asian Identity And Construction

After a long history of evolution of regional society, in East Asia, regional integration has already started, regional identity is also growing. But the slow of the growth and the possibility of a premature end of the regional identity, attract concerns and more worrying. Then, the searching for the various factors which influence the construction of the identity is very necessary and urgent. However, the interest factor is no longer the key one, and the ideas factors should be highlighted, the culture and identity factors should not be ignored.Without the construction of the regional society, the regional identity could not be constructed. In essence, the construction of the regional identity is a process of the actor socialization which based on the culture-choice mechanism, according to the social theory of international politics. Identity is a cognitive process of’self’ and’other’, therefore, without the evolution of the regional system and its structure, without the construction of the actors and the regional structure and the co-construction between them, without the understanding and cognition of the actors, individually and mutually, according to the regional structure background, the regional identity could not be constructed. Therefore the strategic interactions of the major actors are also more critical to the regional identity.Moreover, interdependence, common fate, homogeneity and self restraint which Alexander Wendt advanced are also four master variables that influence East Asia identity under Lock Culture background. Furthermore, the identities between China and Japan, especially, the identity of the logic of the regional order, the identity of their mutual history, their strategic practices are very essential to East Asia regional identity. At the same time, quickening the process of the evolution of the regional system, promoting the formation of the four master variables which are helpful to the regional identity, eradicating the identity-crisis between China and Japan are the primary choice to the actors, for the construction of the regional identity.