About the Book

More than a decade has passed since the end of the Cold War, but Asia still faces serious security challenges. These include the current security environment in the Korean Peninsula, across the Taiwan Strait and over Kashmir, the danger of nuclear missile proliferation and the concern with the rising power of China and with American dominance. Indeed, some experts see Asia as a dangerous and unstable place. Alagappa disagrees, maintaining that Asia is a far more stable, predictable and prosperous region than it was in the post-independence period. This volume also takes account of the changed security environment in Asia since September 11th, 2001. Unlike many areas-studies approaches, this work makes a strong case for taking regional politics and security dynamics seriously from both theoretical and empirical approaches. The first part of the book develops an analytical framework for the study of order; the second part examines the salience of the different pathways; the third part investigates the management of specific security issues; and the final part discusses the nature of security order in Asia.

Table of Contents:
Preface Acronyms and Abbreviations Contributors Introduction: Predictability and Stability Despite Challenges MUTHIAH ALAGAPPA Part I. Conceptual Perspective 1. The Study of International Order: An Analytical Framework MUTHIAH ALAGAPPA 2. Constructing Security Order in Asia: Conceptions and Issues MUTHIAH ALAGAPPA 3. Sovereignty: Dominance of the Westphalian Concept and Implications for Regional Security CHUNG-IN MOON AND CHAESUNG CHUN Part II. Pathways to Order 4. Incomplete Hegemony: The United States and Security Order in Asia MICHAEL MASTANDUNO 5. Balance-of-Power Politics: Consequences for Asian Security Order AVERY GOLDSTEIN 6. Regional Institutions and Asian Security Order: Norms, Power, and Prospects for Peaceful Change AMITAV ACHARYA 7. Track 2 Diplomacy: Ideational Contribution to the Evolving Asian Security Order BRIAN L. JOB 8. Economic Interdependence and Economic Cooperation: Mitigating Conflict and Transforming Security Order in Asia MING WAN 9. The UN System as a Pathway to Security in Asia: A Buttress, Not a Pillar ROSEMARY FOOT Part III. Management of Specific Issues 10. Acute Conflicts in Asia After the Cold War: Kashmir, Taiwan, and Korea DAVID KANG 11. Territorial Disputes and Asian Security: Sources, Management, and Prospects JIANWEI WANG 12. Maritime Issues in Asia: The Problem of Adolescence JEAN-MARC F. BLANCHARD 13. Nuclear Weapons, Missile Defense, and Stability: A Case for "Sober Optimism" VICTOR D. CHA 14. Managing Internal Conflicts: Dominance of the State ARUN R. SWAMY AND JOHN GERSHMAN 15. Human Security: An Intractable Problem in Asia DEWI FORTUNA ANWAR Part IV. Conclusion 16. Managing Asian Security: Competition, Cooperation, and Evolutionary Change MUTHIAH ALAGAPPA