ABSTRACT
The East Asian countries are increasingly powerful economically, exert greater political influence in Asian and world affairs, and to some extent register greater importance in world military affairs. Military-strategic considerations of the Cold War provided the key to Asian international affairs and American-East Asian relations for at least two decades, the 1950s and 1960s. American interests in democracy and human rights also made surprising gains; and the United States developed increasingly important economic relations with the dynamic East Asian economies. American policymakers, backed by informed public opinion, will need to have the knowledge and the ability to decide when and how to accommodate, confront, or otherwise deal with East Asian-Pacific countries and trends that affect important US interests and policy goals. The chapter also presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in this book.
