ABSTRACT
This chapter identifies some of the central issues raised in this book, and introduces each of the contributions in relation to these aims within the three broadly-defined themes of changing geopolitical orientations, regional cooperation and security concerns. It is not uncommon for Western commentators to underestimate the geopolitical importance of the Indian Ocean region. However, the Indian Ocean was faced with a particular contextual problem because it did not possess a strong regionalism tradition. Furthermore, in many other cases around the world, regionalism was built on relatively strong bilateral linkages. In the Indian Ocean, however, relatively weak bilateral relations implied a relatively weak regionalism from the outset. From a global perspective, it has been suggested that, geopolitically, the Indian Ocean does not comprise a true security system; rather, it comprises a set of highly diverse sub-systems.
