Description
Book SynopsisA provocative account of the state of Asian geopolitics and US foreign policy in Asia. Drawing on decades of business and political experience, William H. Overholt argues that there is a tension between America's continuing Cold War attitudes and its national interests that poses severe problems for US policy.
Trade Review'A sweeping tour d'horizon of Asia's profoundly changing geopolitical landscape, presented with zest and bold judgments. An important and timely dissection of the implications of the ongoing eastward shift in the world's center of gravity.' Zbigniew Brzezinski, Former National Security Advisor to the President of the United States
'Deng Xiaoping is right; Gorbachev is wrong. Which American dared to say this when they were in office? Bill Overholt. In this volume, Bill Overholt continues his tradition of challenging Western conventional wisdom on Asia. As he says 'old ideas burn themselves into the minds and can be excised only by some searing experience'. If his book is read by critical policymakers, the world may well be spared a 'searing experience' in handling the inevitable rise of Asia.' Kishore Mahbubani Dean, author of Beyond the Age of Innocence: Rebuilding Trust between America and the World
'Overholt draws on decades of diverse experiences throughout Asia to provide a book profuse with fresh perspectives on its changing geopolitics. This will be must reading for both specialists and generalists.' T. J. Pempel, University of California, Berkeley
'This work analyzes Asia in its broadest dimensions - economic, political, and strategic. It then applies its findings to implications for American foreign policy, and concludes with a survey of possible future scenarios for Asia and the U.S. While the reader may differ with the author on certain interpretations, the study provides an unprecedented opportunity to reexamine Asia's past and present, and to explore its future as well as that of the United States.' Professor Robert A. Scalapino, Robson Research Professor of Government Emeritus, University of California, Berkeley
'Mr. Overholt also presents perceptive and … provocative assessments of Southeast Asia, South Asia.' Far Eastern Economic Review
'… Overholt offers a comprehensive survey of trends in Asia and arrives at a set of possible scenarios for future developments. …' The Royal Society for Asian Affairs
Table of Contents1. Introduction: The inertia of foreign policies; 2. Cold War assumptions and changing realities; 3. Regional trends; 4. Asia's big powers: Japan and China; 5. Smaller places, decisive pivots: Taiwan, Korea, Southeast Asia; 6. The aspiring power and its near abroad: India and South Asia; 7. Russia and its near abroad; 8. The United States and the New Asia; 9. Scenarios for the future; 10. Conclusion.
