ABSTRACT
This chapter lays out the conceptual and analytical frame and organizational structure of the volume and situates its contributions in the larger context of existing scholarship on globalization and East Asia. It discusses the changes engendered by globalization, changing power dynamics, and demographic shifts that impact the global landscape of the post-Cold War decades and, regionally the politics, economies and societies of Asia, especially the civil society sphere. Engaging the concept of “East Asian space” that serves as a geopolitical frame for the volume, it highlights mobility and interconnectivity among countries and regions that inform not only economic relations but also movements of people and ideas, with resulting implications for local, national, and transnational social and political mobilization. Addressing the organization of the volume, it discusses the ways in which the three parts cohere, and how each contributes thematically to the overall volume. It also discusses the key issues and significance of each chapter in each part of the volume.
