Asian-Pacific Security

Research Paper # 94995

Asian Studies
History > Asian

An analysis of the role of the United States in the security of the Asia-Pacific region.

2,567 words () | 34 sources | APA | 2006 Australia

Paper Summary:

This paper looks at how the U.S. plays an important role in maintaining peace and stability in the Asian-Pacific region and has successfully intervened in a number of potentially volatile security situations. It examines a number of alternative security arrangements and their viability as a regional order is explored. The first alternative arrangement is the rise of a regional hegemon to replace the U.S; the second alternative is a multi polar balance of power; and the third alternative is a mature security community. It concludes that each of the three alternatives has shortcomings, and do not compare favorably to the current regional order. Finally, the paper considers the likelihood of the U.S. leaving Asia-Pacific security to the Asians, and what impact current U.S. policies have on that prospect.

Outline:
Introduction
Meaning of the Term
What Role Does the U.S. Play?
Alternative Security Orders
Will the U.S. Leave Security to the Asians?
Conclusion

From the Paper:

"The U.S. has been at the apex of a unilateral international system since the end of the Cold War, and has the ability to project power across the globe. The disparity in power between the U.S. and other regional actors is enormous, especially in power projection capability, defence technologies and intelligence gathering capability. Although U.S. dominance includes economic, technological and cultural power, these serve an important function of reinforcing military power, with the U.S. able to increase military spending whilst spending a smaller percentage of its GDP. At the end of the Cold War the U.S. pursued a hegemonic strategy and entrenched its role as the guarantor of regional security. Its approach to regional security is a 'hub and spoke' arrangement and includes important bilateral security ties with Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and countries in South-East Asia. "

Sample of Sources Used:

E. Adler and M. Barnett, 'A framework for the study of security communities' in E. Adler and M. Barnett (eds), Security Communities, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1998
R. Berstein and R. Munro, 'The Coming Conflict with America', Foreign Affairs, Mar/Apr 97, Vol. 76, Issue 2
S. Brooks and W. Wohlforth, 'American Primacy in Perspective', Foreign Affairs, July/August, 2002
B. Cately, 'The Bush Administration and Changing Geopolitics in the Asia-Pacific Region' in Contemporary Southeast Asia, 23.1, 2001
T. Christensen, 'China, the U.S.-Japan Alliance, and the Security Dilemma in East Asia' in J. Ikenberry & M. Mastanduno (eds), International Relations Theory and the Asia-Pacific, Columbia University Press, New York, 2003