Asia’s four regionalisms (Southeast Asia, South Asia, Central Asia and East Asia): a view from multilateral treaties of the United Nations

This study presents a quantitative framework to analyze the engagement of four Asian sub-regions with global issues through their participation in multilateral treaties across various policy areas. The research addresses key questions regarding the speed of Asian states’ involvement in multilateral treaties and their adaptation to these treaties within the United Nations system over time. The approach combines empirical data and conceptualization to ensure a robust evidentiary basis. A dataset comprising 600 major multilateral treaties deposited in the United Nations system, covering diverse global issues, was collected. Additionally, ratification actions from twenty-eight Asian countries were categorized into four sub-regions: East Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia, and Central Asia. To quantitatively measure states’ engagement with multilateral treaties, the study developed and calculated the Treaty Participation Index for each Asian country and sub-group. In an area predominantly characterized by qualitative research, this paper contributes to the existing literature by providing quantitative and metric findings for comparative analyses of multilateral treaty participation among the four Asian sub-regions, as well as comparisons between Asia and the rest of the world. By analyzing the results, the paper offers an evidence-based assessment of the feasibility of these four regionalisms in Asia, particularly in the context of the transition from international politics to the paradigm of global politics.