After examining the global system's political volatility at the dawn of
the new millenium, the book looks at how some of the identifiable
system-wide trends (e.g., globalization, democratization, fragmentation,
etc.) may find repercussions in the Asia Pacific. The book also
addresses the question of 'comprehensive security', in comparison with
other regions, in a wide range of areas subsuming economic security
(geoeconomics), environmental security (ecopolitics), and human
security. In addition, the book recognizes the idiosyncrasies of the
region, such as the defensiveness of most Asian governments toward the
protection of their financial markets against external forces following
the regional financial crisis of the late 1990s.