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The Asia-Pacific region is characterized not only by unprecedented economic growth, but also as being one of the last bastions of authoritarianism. As such, deep political tensions persist in the region, and many questions remain surrounding the uncertainty of the Asia-Pacific's geopolitical future. In The Politics of the Asia-Pacific, senior scholars, former diplomats, and emerging voices introduce readers to the complexities of the colonial history, economics, democratization, authoritarianism, governance, and security within the region. Written by a diverse group of contributors with unique expertise in the region, the book includes immersive active-learning sequences in the form of classroom simulations, including a Model United Nations emergency session involving North Korea, an ASEAN Summit, and a women's movement conference. These exciting simulations are grounded in real-world descriptions of the politics of the region and encourage students to learn through role-playing, research, public-speaking, and diplomatic negotiations with peers. Exploring the region's rapid economic growth and the great deal of politics that remain unsettled, The Politics of the Asia-Pacific shows why an education in global politics for the twenty-first century is incomplete without a consideration of this dynamic region.

"The Republic of Indonesia is a rising great power in the Asia-Pacific, set to become the eighth largest economy in the world in the coming decades. It is the most populous Muslim majority country in the world. The largest Islamic organizations and parties have supported Indonesia's participation with global markets, but this has not come from an ideological support for capitalism or economic liberalization. Islamic political culture has denounced the injustices caused by global capitalism and its excesses. In fact, support for Indonesia's engagement with the international political economy is born from political pragmatism, and from Indonesia's struggles to achieve economic development. This book examines the role of Islamic identity in Indonesia's foreign economic relations and in its engagement with the world order. There is no single expression of Islam in Indonesia, the politics espoused by Islamic parties and organizations are far from monolithic. Islamic sentiment has been invoked by the state to justify heinous acts of brutality, as well as by violent, subnational revolutionary groups. However, these expressions of Islam have deviated from the dominant narrative, which is in favour of international cooperation and economic development. Economic exploitation, political alienation, financial volatility, and aggression toward Muslims around the world that has caused some Islamic groups to radicalize. The political culture of Islam in Indonesia is a social force that is helping to foster a peaceful rise for Indonesia. However, a peaceful expression of Islam is not inevitable for the republic, nor can it be assumed that Islamic identity in Indonesia will unwaveringly support the global economic order, regardless of what might occur in global politics"--

This book examines U.S.-Latin American relations from an historical, contemporary, and theoretical perspective. By drawing examples from the distant and more recent past and interweaving history with theory Mark E. Williams illustrates the enduring principles of international relations theory and provides students the conceptual tools to make sense of inter-American relations. It is a masterful guide for how to organize facts, think systematically about issues, weigh competing explanations, and draw your own conclusions regarding the past, present, and future of international politics in the region.

A risk advisor for top financial institutions explains how limitless risky behaviors toppled a 158-year-old institution, using the story to illuminate the interconnection of the global financial system, as well as broader policy implications

Market Reforms in Mexico examines Mexico's reform experience in privatization, deregulation, and environmental policy. More than simply a book on 'Mexican politics,' this study speaks to the broader political dynamics behind the success or failure to implement reforms; first, by assessing new policy initiatives in multiple arenas across presidential administrations in Mexico, then by comparing Mexico's privatization experience to that of Argentina's. Through structured, focused comparison of select case studies, the author argues that the fate of dramatic reform initiatives turned on coalition politics (both inside and outside the state), and explains how institutional dynamics and the capacity to solve the problem of policy 'costs' strongly affected reformers' prospects of success.

Human civilizations throughout time have all grappled with the challenge of molding geographical and environmental conditions for the purpose of developing their respective societies and cultures. Empires of old have imposed their imperial will over subject populations to have them 'fit' into a prescribed empirical development paradigm. This is no less true in regions of East Asia when, in the aftermath of World War II, Western nations – led especially by the United States – began to impose political and economic policies that galvanized the ethos of a 'modern' development paradigm in the East Asian realm. This situation has led to a clash of societal traditions and cultural values that has not abated for more than seventy years. The purpose of this short study, then, is to examine the impact of the so-called 'Western development architecture' in East Asia, and to acknowledge changes that have produced a dichotomy of Western and Eastern development paradigms in the current political-economic situation of the early 21st century.