ABSTRACT
This chapter is concerned with the question, what kind of region is the Asia-Pacific and in what kind of world is it located? The chapter argues that the rhetoric underlying a regional perspective on the Asia-Pacific tells us less about the international relations of this area than a perspective that sees the USA as an outside player in an East Asian region. Section 4.2 explores the concept of region in international relations theory, noting the essential criteria and the diversity of interpretations that they can produce. The next section uses these criteria to examine the case for thinking of the Asia-Pacific as a distinct region, arguing that while there is a case, it is rather weak. Then Section 4.4 applies the same criteria and finds a considerably stronger case for seeing East Asia as the principal regional phenomenon. In this perspective the USA is a global great power player with engagements in several regions, and Asia-Pacific rhetoric one of several anti-regional devices for maintaining US global access and influence.
