The book deals with the changing pattern of international relations in the Asia-Pacific region at the turn of the century with particular reference to the roles of the United States, ASEAN, Japan, China and Australia. Attention is also given to multilateral cooperation fora such as APEC, ARF and CSCAP. The first part consists of an evaluation of international relations theories and their meaning for the analysis of structures and actors in the Asia-Pacific. In the second part renowned experts present detailed case studies. The analysis is not based on a single theoretical approach but employs different perspectives.