ABSTRACT
The United States is the nation most capable of providing the leadership needed to transform Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) into an international organization capable of facing the global and regional challenges of the incipient "Pacific century". A focus on Japanese-American relations is the best place to initiate a discussion of specific developments in the Asia-Pacific political economy in the post-Cold War period. To assess the potential for American leadership in creating an institutional framework in the Asia-Pacific region, and the role of APEC in such a framework, it is first essential to establish the broad geopolitical and economic realities in the region. As long as the primary purpose of APEC is to serve as a forum for new ideas and consensus-building with the aim of creating an Asian-Pacific community, its horizons must encompass the challenges of bringing peace as well as prosperity to the most dynamic region in the world.
