Asia’s New World Order

The disintegration of the former Soviet Union, the end of the cold war and the trend of economic developmental miracles in disparate regions of the globe have brought a vast transformation to the political, economic, and security configurations of the world. Gone is the bipolar world of superpower rivalry, replaced by new international patterns and trends. Nowhere is the transformation more striking than in East and Southeast Asia, the region which includes China, Japan, the four tigers of Hong Kong, South Korea, Singapore, and Taiwan, and the emerging powers of Southeast Asia. The regional transformation in turn has extended beyond the region itself, profoundly affecting global politics and international relations. Asia’s New World Order traces the overall political, economic, and security developments of the region. The contributors look beyond the customary fixation on great powers to examine developments in the lesser powers, and to search for unforeseen policy implications and directions for the United States.