Since 9-11, the international community has been trying to understand the implications of what happened and subsequent events, not only for the countries directly affected but for the whole world. Clearly, a new global order is in the making, as the events of 9-11 marked the end of the post–cold war period.

This book maps the introductory phase of the post–9-11 global and regional settings, as well as the response of the East Asian countries. Three thematic chapters and three country-specific chapters collect Asian perspectives on how the world and the region should be managed because of, or despite, the events of 9-11. The thematic chapters address such questions as what is happening to the nature and substance of the global and regional order; how relations among the major powers might have changed; the implications of the changes on international institutions, particularly the United Nations; the effects of 9-11 on the domestic politics of Asian countries; and the interplay between Islamic factors and the situation since 9-11. The country chapters on China, Indonesia, and Japan examine how these key countries in the region feel about the US-led war on terrorism, the ways each supports the effort, and the significant differences between public opinion and government policy. While no countries in East Asia were unaffected by 9-11, their responses differed in significant ways. The authors seem to agree that to uphold global security, East Asia must redouble its effort to strengthen coordination and cooperation among its member countries.