Asia-Pacific Geopolitics: Hegemony vs Human Security

This book is a probing reassessment of security prospects for the Asia-Pacific region centred on an analysis of three key notions: hegemonic power, human security and multilateralism.The post-September 11 world is steadily moving towards multipolarity as the hegemon's authority declines. The UN is at a pivotal moment in its history and middle powers like Japan and Australia will no doubt help to shape its future. Furthermore, China's star is rising and the region has to contend with all the ramifications of this complex reality. The book defines human security as a concept that offers the international community a broader philosophical and political purpose and gives substance to the emerging regional and global multilateralism. It poses perhaps the two most intriguing and critical questions of the moment: can civil society and epistemic communities, operating across cultural and civil boundaries, play a more influential role in defining the goals and processes of regional cooperation in Asia Pacific? and can states, multilateral organisations and civil society develop a more effective partnership in pursuit of these goals? This book brings together distinguished scholars and experts on public policy, social ethics, defence, human security and sustainability to consider the future of the Asia-Pacific region and appropriate responses by both states and civil society. It will appeal to scholars and researchers of international relations, politics and Asian studies as well as policymakers in the region.

Table of Contents:
Contents: Preface Introduction 1. Hegemony and Human Security: Competing Principles of Regional Order Michális S. Michael and Larry Marshall PART I: HEGEMONY AND EAST ASIA RELATIONS 2. Hegemony, Perilous Empire and Human Security Mustapha Kamal Pasha 3. Still Anchoring an American Asia Pacific? Nick Bisley 4. Containing China: A Flawed Agenda Chandra Muzaffar PART II: JAPAN’S SECURITY DILEMMA 5. Questioning the Rationale for Changing Japan’s Peace Constitution Michael T. Seigel 6. Can Japan Create a Basis for its Internationality? Jiro Yamaguchi 7. Beyond the Japanese Constitutional Dilemmas Yoshikazu Sakamoto PART III: JAPAN AND AUSTRALIA: A MORE CONSTRUCTIVE ROLE FOR MIDDLE POWERS 8. Japan, Australia and the UN Disarmament Agenda Michael Hamel-Green 9. Japan, Australian and Niche Diplomacy in the South Pacific Allan Patience PART IV: GLOBAL GOVERNANCE AND SUSTAINABILITY 10. The Role of the United Nations in the Twenty-first Century Tetsuya Yamada 11. Foreign Policy in Search of a Sustainable World Shigeko Fukai Conclusion 12. Between Alliance and Regional Engagement: Current Realities and Future Possibilities Joseph A. Camilleri Index

About the Author :
Edited by Joseph A. Camilleri, Emeritus Professor, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia, Larry Marshall, Associate Lecturer and Project Officer for Australian Studies, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Michális S. Michael, Director, Centre for Dialogue-Global Reconciliation, Australia and Michael T. Seigel, Institute for Social Ethics, Nanzan University, Nagoya, Japan

Review :
'Geopolitical contestation in the Asia-Pacific will be one of the defining features of the wider international order in the twenty-first century. This well-conceived volume brings together a team of leading scholars from around the region to help us understand why and what it may mean. It could hardly be more timely or useful.' '. . . a very timely and valuable set of essays by expert contributors 'Are Japan and Australia part of Asia? Can middle powers and/or the United Nations play a constructive role independent of the dominance of a hegemonic power? The authors of this stimulating collection on the geopolitics of the Asia-Pacific astutely weigh the possibilities for the emergence of an Asian community as an alternative to dependence by middle powers and the UN on the United States in a period of hegemonic decline in the wake of 9/11.'