ABSTRACT
The Pacific Basin by the end of the 1990s had undergone a dramatic transformation since 1945. In the Pacific the cultural diversity of islanders and pre-war paternalistic colonialism delayed independence movements in most island groups. The Cold War in the Pacific Basin encouraged the revival of the Japanese economic empire, which lay in ashes in 1945, Stimulated by 'reverse course' American policies and its use as an arsenal during the Korean War, the trade-driven Japanese economy was booming by the 1960s. The Asian and Pacific Island languages have far less common roots than those of Western Europe, though English has become the language of the new Pacific Basin organizations. The new cooperative and free trade movements in the Pacific Basin are only pale shadows of the developing European community. Political ideology is more diverse in the Pacific Basin.
