ABSTRACT
This chapter presents the enthusiasm for Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) in the more constrained post-Seattle environment and also in the context of new theoretical discussions of institutionalism and cooperation. It argues that after the dust of the summit has settled, a more sombre assessment of the organisation is emerging than that which accompanied the meeting. The chapter discusses some theoretical questions about the role of knowledge and ideas in the process of cooperation building in the Pacific. It considers the cooperation movement to date and examines the relationship between realism and cooperation in the Asia-Pacific. The chapter looks at the continuing tension between APEC and the alternative definition of region embodied in the Malaysian initiative for an East Asian Economic Caucus. The signals that the management of the US economy and polity has sent to other players in the international economy have caused a questioning of American credibility as the cornerstone of a liberal international economic order.
