As the world's most dynamic region, Asia embodies explosive economic growth, diverse political systems, vibrant societies, modernizing militaries, cutting-edge technologies, rich cultural traditions amid globalization, and strategic competition among major powers. As a result, international relations in Asia are evolving rapidly. In this fully updated and expanded volume, leading scholars from Asia, Europe, and North America offer the most current and definitive analysis available of Asia's regional relationships. They set developments in Asia in theoretical context, assess the role of leading external and regional powers, and consider the importance of subregional actors and linkages. Combining interpretive richness and factual depth, their essays provide an authoritative and stimulating overview. Students of contemporary Asian affairs—new to the field and old hands alike—will find this book an invaluable read. Contributions by: Amitav Acharya, Sebastian Bersick, Nayan Chanda, Ralph A. Cossa, Michael Green, Samuel S. Kim, Edward J. Lincoln, Martha Brill Olcott, T.V. Paul, Phillip C. Saunders, David Shambaugh, Sheldon W. Simon, Scott Snyder, Robert Sutter, Hugh White, and Michael Yahuda

A second edition of this book is now available. As the world's most vital region, Asia embodies explosive economic growth, diverse political systems, vibrant societies, modernizing militaries, cutting-edge technologies, rich cultural traditions amid globalization, and strategic competition among major powers. As a result, international relations in Asia are evolving rapidly. In this deeply informed study, leading scholars offer the most current and definitive analysis available of Asia's regional relationships. They set developments in Asia in theoretical context, assess the role of leading external and regional powers, and consider the importance of subregional actors and linkages. Students and policy practitioners alike will find this book invaluable for understanding politics in contemporary Asia. Contributions by: Amitav Acharya, Sebastian Bersick, Nayan Chanda, Ralph Cossa, Sumit Ganguly, Michael Green, Samuel S. Kim, Edward J. Lincoln, Martha Brill Olcott, Philip C. Saunders, David Shambaugh, Sheldon W. Simon, Scott Snyder, Robert G. Sutter, Hugh White, and Michael Yahuda

Academic and accepted orthodoxy maintains that Southeast Asia, and Asia generally, is evolving into a distinctive East Asian regional order. This book questions this claim and reveals instead uncertainty and incoherence at the heart of ASEAN, the region s foremost institution. The authors provide a systematic critique of ASEAN s evolution and institutional development, as well as a unified understanding of the international relations and political economy of ASEAN and the Asia Pacific. It is the first study to provide a sceptical analysis of international relations orthodoxies regarding regionalization and institutionalism, and is based on wide-ranging and rigorous research. Students of international relations, the Asia Pacific, Southeast Asia, regional studies, international history and security and defence studies will find this book of great interest, as will scholars, policy makers and economic forecasters with an interest in long-term Asia Pacific trends.

The world has undergone significant change since the end of the Cold War. One such development is that the Asia-Pacific has become increasingly prominent in international affairs. This comprehensive study provides a detailed understanding of key issues, actors and future trends in the region.

Thailand, a long-standing defence partner of the United States and ASEAN’s second largest economy, occupies a geostrategically important position as a land bridge between China and maritime Southeast Asia. This book, based on extensive original research, explores the current state of US-Thai relations, paying particular attention to how the United States is perceived by a wide range of people in the Thai defence establishment and highlighting the importance of historical memory. The book outlines how the US-Thai relationship has been complicated and at times turbulent, discusses how Thailand is deeply embedded in multi-faceted relationships with many Asian states, not just China, and examines how far the United States is blind to the complexities of Asian international relations by focusing too much on China. The book concludes by assessing how US-Thai relations are likely to develop going forward. Additionally, the work contributes to alliance theory by showing how domestic politics shapes memory, which in turn affects perceptions of other states.

This book shows how historical experiences have affected East Asian security debates, as reflected in enduring concerns with sovereign autonomy.

This balanced, comprehensive guide to Southeast Asian politics offers a sensible but nondogmatic realist approach to the region's international relations. In this revised, second edition, Donald E. Weatherbee lucidly explains the dynamics of the Southeast Asian subsystem as a struggle for autonomy in pursuit of national interests. He explores three important questions, the answers to which will shape the future Southeast Asia. Will democratic regimes transform international relations in Southeast Asia? Will national leaders succeed in reinventing ASEAN as a more effective collaborative mechanism? Finally, how will the evolving Chinese position, balancing and perhaps displacing the United States as Asia's great power, affect Southeast Asia's struggle for autonomy?

This book provides an overall picture of East Asian international politics during the early interwar period and examines the various foreign policy trends of the major powers involved, including Japan, China, Britain, the United States, and the Soviet Union. Based on extensive original research, it posits that East Asia experienced four waves of international change during the interwar period: the transition to the post-World War I international order; the appearance of Nationalist China and the Soviet Union as actors in East Asian international politics; the Japanese invasion of Manchuria; and Japanese implementation of the North China Buffer State Strategy. It considers the new challenges brought about by each of these waves, how the powers – particularly Japan, Britain, and the United States – were able to meet these challenges by working together, and how this became more difficult as time went on. It argues that the Washington System – the international order established at the 1921–1922 Washington Naval Conference – was not a break with the past, as is frequently argued, on account of new forms of foreign policy, including the ideological approaches of the United States and the Soviet Union, but that rather spheres of influence diplomacy continued as before. In addition, in discussing Japanese foreign policy, the book provides a comprehensive picture of the diversity of views towards China among Japanese actors and the ways these shifted over time. The Open Access version of this book, available at www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license.

Looking at approaches to understanding the interactions among three critical players, China, Japan and the United States, the authors of this text show that understanding the effects of cultural divides between Asian and American policymakers is crucial to building effective policies in the future.

This collection of authoritative papers prepared by some of America's most eminent scholars in the field provides us with an up-to-date analysis of the complex and rapidly changing relations among China, Russia, Japan, and the countries of South and Southeast Asia. The contributors discuss in depth the major issues faced by the policymakers of each country, examining also the role of the U.S. in order to furnish greater perspective and a more realistic picture. Among the issues considered are Sino-Soviet relations, interdependence versus national assertiveness, economic interaction, and the effects of international conflict. The analyses of individual countries are supplemented by a broader view of actors and issues in regional and international contexts; equally important, the emphasis on contemporary aspects allows a look at current trends and the dynamics of future Asian international relations.