No sooner had we got used to thinking of ourselves as living in the “Asian century” than it might be all over. So argues Michael Auslin in The End of the Asian Century: “We are on the cusp of a change in the global zeitgeist, from celebrating a strong and growing Asia to worrying about a weak and dangerous Asia.”
One early outcome of Donald Trump’s presidency has been a shake-up in assumptions about America’s strategic role in Asia. The message from this book is ultimately one that supports maintaining a US presence in the face of a strengthening China. It is, though, a product of pre-Trumpian Washington, when the Obama/Clinton “pivot to Asia” and the Trans-Pacific Partnership dominated the agenda.
This book will bring readers up to speed on recent history: “We in the west have not yet caught up mentally with the way globalisation has transformed the Asia-Pacific,” Auslin writes. But there’s little insight into how Asians view China’s re-emergence, America’s presence or the region’s future. The book is a crash course on the risks in Asia, without exploring the solutions Asians can offer.