At the crossroads of Northeast Asia, South Korea provides a critical vantage point for viewing changes in the region. This comprehensive review of the past quarter century covers its strategic thinking in regard to China, Japan, Russia, regionalism, and reunification.

At the crossroads of Northeast Asia, South Korea provides a critical vantage point for viewing changes in the region. This comprehensive review of the past quarter century covers its strategic thinking in regard to China, Japan, Russia, regionalism, and reunification.

This book traces the development of Chinese thinking over four periods from the 1980s on and covers strategies toward: Russia and Central Asia, Japan, the Korean peninsula, Southeast and South Asia, and regionalism. It compares strategic thinking, arguing that the level was lowest under Jiang Zemin and highest under Hu Jintao. While pinpointing many mistaken assumptions, it credits China with overall successes and concludes that China stands at a crossroads. Deng Xiaoping’s legacy about patiently biding its time may be replaced by growing assertiveness, which was difficult to suppress earlier and now is emboldened by China’s rapid rise.

Japanese leaders and often the media too have substituted symbols for strategy in dealing with Asia. This comprehensive review of four periods over twenty years exposes the strategic gap in viewing individually and collectively China, Taiwan, the Korean peninsula, Russia, Central Asia, and regionalism.

This book traces the development of Chinese thinking over four periods from the 1980s on and covers strategies toward: Russia and Central Asia, Japan, the Korean peninsula, Southeast and South Asia, and regionalism. It compares strategic thinking, arguing that the level was lowest under Jiang Zemin and highest under Hu Jintao.

The book explains the Putin era's ambivalent approach to Asia and finds lessons from earlier approaches worthy of further attention. The overview compares how strategic thinking evolved, while reflecting on factors that shaped it.

South Korea has been quietly growing into a major economic force, even challenging Japan in some industries. This growth may be seen as an example of "late industrialization" and this book discusses this point.