From Southeast Asia to Indo-Pacific

An authoritative account of key geopolitical changes affecting Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia was created by geopolitics; it might die with it.

The end of the Cold War in the early 1990s marked the high point of Southeast Asia's rise on the global stage. But the tide is turning now.

The previous era of great power rivalry actually made the rise of Southeast Asia possible. In its fight against communism, the US extended a security umbrella over the pro-Western nations. It also stimulated common purpose and unity among nations due to their fear of being entangled into great power intervention. This led to the creation and consolidation of ASEAN. The resulting rapid economic growth created greater domestic and regional stability.

Will the return of geopolitics have a similar impact? This is no means assured. In fact, the opposite could happen. The new geopolitics is quite different from the old.

The fate of the region looks increasingly uncertain; the question arises- has Southeast Asia passed its 'use by date'?