ABSTRACT
Predictions of Asia’s rise were in vogue in the early 1990s until the crisis that began in mid-1997.1 Many questions remain on whether Asia will ever fulfill such predictions. Challenges to progress are multiple and varied. On the assumption that Asia does rise, questions of regional and global order follow in tandem. Which countries will emerge as leaders? What does this portend for USA, which has dominated the region since the end of World War II? What roles can be played by the smaller and medium-sized states in the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN)?2
