APEC Research Papers - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

""The 21st Century was announced as America’s Pacific Century by the Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, actually following a trend present in U.S. foreign policy since the end of the Cold War. It is not a completely new approach, as it was George Herbert Bush, who had chosen to visit Asia first in 1989 (unlike his predecessors who used to visit Europe on inaugural overseas trips). It was followed by the 1993 statement by Winston Lord, the Assistant Secretary of State, that there was no region more important for the U.S. than Asia and the Pacific at that moment, and in the 21st century no other region would be more important. The United States already understood when the Pacific Century, as the centre of gravity for U.S. foreign policy in the Pacific Rim, emerged.
This book, The Pacific Century: U.S. Policy in the Asia-Pacific Region since 1989, focuses on the new and crucial dimension of U.S. foreign policy, i.e. Pacific policy. A change of priorities in the American Administration was already visible in the 1980s, but it was its geopolitical change after the end of the cold war that made the Asia-Pacific policy crucial for the United States. Bearing in mind the especially fast-growing economies of the region (currently being the engines of world growth) and their size, supported by the whole territorial and demographic potential, one can predict that its role in the world, and within U.S. foreign policy, must continue to increase. This was understood by Bill Clinton and his administration. However, George W. Bush’s foreign policy, focused on different aspects (such as Iraq or Afghanistan), neglecting the region somewhat, especially in the multilateral area, which resulted in a diminishing of U.S. status in the Asia-Pacific region. The presidency of Barack Obama, in particular due to the activities of Hillary Clinton, brought America once again into the Pacific. New agreements with ASEAN, including the signing of the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation, followed by membership of the East Asian Summit was a watershed for the role of the U.S. in the region.
It is especially important, to bear in mind the basic assumption of this book, namely two models of regional relations symbolized by: APEC – Pacific Basin system, wherein the U.S. is the crucial actor and ASEAN (ASEAN Plus Three, East Asian Summit) – East Asian system, where the U.S. is just a guest and the respective American status is much weaker than in the Asia-Pacific (or Pacific Basin) system. The diminishing U.S. position in the regional system seems to be a natural ramification of both geopolitical, and geoeconomic changes in the system, with special emphasis on the latter, as the U.S. role within the system is largely based on economic power, and changes in this sphere are the clearest. The current economic crisis, with trade imbalances, particularly visible in the Pacific Rim, followed by American incentives to increase domestic demand in Asian economies could result in a reduction of economic links between the U.S. and East Asia. It is definite that a trade block in the East Asian region will be more natural than in the Asia-Pacific region, hence the American role in the region will diminish. It is crucial though, that the U.S. maintains strong relations with the region, supporting regional integration architecture and securing its links with regional integration organizations. The recent activities of the last administration has definitely been a step in the right direction.
The book analyses U.S. foreign policy in the Asia-Pacific region in both bilateral and multilateral dimensions. The analysis focuses on the period since 1989, when the U.S. had to redefine its foreign policy, encompassing the administrations of George H. Bush (1989-93), Bill Clinton (1993-2001), George W. Bush (2001-09) and Barack Obama (2009-). This book is composed of five chapters, including a theoretical introduction, analysis of the U.S. position in comparison to other actors of the Asia-Pacific regional system, and the mechanisms and goals of U.S. foreign policy towards the region at the time.. It is followed by analysis of American foreign policy towards the most crucial countries in the region, namely the People’s Republic of China, Japan, the Republic of Korea, India and Australia. The last chapter is devoted to analysis of regional organizations, such as the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and its offspring (ASEAN Plus Three, ASEAN Regional Forum, East Asia Summit), and U.S. policy towards the abovementioned.
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