Summary
This fully revised and updated edition of Donald E. Weatherbee’s widely praised text offers a clear and comprehensive introduction to the international relations of contemporary Southeast Asia. The author analyzes the Southeast Asian states’ efforts to adapt to a regional international environment that is characterized by the security demands of the war on terrorism; the economic demands of globalism; and the political demands of nontraditional issues such as democracy, human rights, the environment, and gender. These shifting dynamics take place in a broader framework of diminished U.S. power and enhanced Chinese influence that could well undermine Southeast Asia’s autonomy. An invaluable guide to the region, this balanced and lucid work will be an essential text for courses on Southeast Asia and on the international relations of the Asia-Pacific.