| The current literature from regime theory and liberal institutionalism tends to judge the peace and stability of a region by its complexity and "density" of institutionalization. It also promises that if countries could increase the vigor and intensity of formal regimes, for transferring international norms and rules, transnational relations would become less conflictual and the world could gradually become more peaceful. However, in East Asia, the general condition is still war-free and prosperous when international regimes are scanty and dysfunctional. Furthermore, the post-Cold War history of Taiwan-China relations shows that even though the disputers are notably integrated and institutionalized in many ways, fatal political conflicts are never eased. A possible answer to the dilemma is that there is a tacit, informal, and changing framework of international norms working on this region. This hypothetical framework maintains the link with the international standard of conflict resolution but is conditioned by various local interests. The international norms utilized and localized are much different from the Western experiences of conflict management based on agreement and institution building. Evidence has shown how important political confidence building is before disputers can begin their negotiation, and the critical effects of psychological factors such as identity, ideology, and their local host, political groups in the institutionalization process. To identify this unspoken confidence-building process, this thesis builds up the Dual Leveled Analytical Framework by including local and psychological factors along with a traditional institutional approach. |
