Publisher's Synopsis
This volume critically examines a number of the key propositions which have emerged from the growing literature on the relationships between economics and security. Much of this literature derives from Europe or the US and its relevance to the dynamic Asia-Pacific region, which is the geographical focus of this study, is contested.
Issues analysed include the relationships between democracy, interdependence and security in East-Asia, regional trade and communications structures and security, and the relevance of the thesis that interstate war is increasingly obsolete.
A central theme of the book is that the absence of effective communication between economic and defence ministeries and the lack of integration and cross-fertilisation between the academic disciplines of international economics and international politics act as barriers to a clearer understanding of the economics-security nexus. Such an understanding is an essential, though not of course a sufficient, condition for more effective security policy.
