Relationships and alignments among the nations of the world’s most populous and productive region, the Asia Pacific, are in flux. Current global political, economic and security uncertainty, heightened by 9/11 and the subsequent War on Terror, has fuelled a reassessment by many Asia Pacific nations about the structure and form of future economic and political cooperation and development.

Featuring contributions from some of the most eminent and influential economists and political scientists in the Asia Pacific region, this book explores the forces reshaping the Asia Pacific economic order, and where these changes may lead. Focusing on the origins of the shift towards policy driven integration, the book examines what new structures may eventually emerge on both sides of the Pacific, the ways in which this shift will affect the progress of economic integration and how cross-Pacific relations will therefore be affected.