Mark Williams | Triumphs, Challenges and Threats: The Politics of the Asia-Pacific

<p><strong>Topics Discussed and Key Points:</strong></p><p>●      The main thesis of <em>The Politics of the Asia-Pacific</em></p><p>●      The biggest evolutions in the Asia-Pacific over the last 15 years</p><p>●      Relationships between countries in the Asia-Pacific</p><p>●      Major non-governmental actors in the Asia-Pacific region</p><p>●      How average citizens regard tensions in the region</p><p>●      How the pandemic impacted politics in the region</p><p>●      Often overlooked factors by the West concerning politics in the Asia-Pacific region</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong>Episode Summary:</strong></p><p>Today on The Negotiation, we talk with Mark Williams, Chair of Political Studies at Vancouver Island University. He is the editor of <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Politics-Asia-Pacific-Triumphs-Challenges-Threats/dp/1487525990"><em>The Politics of the Asia-Pacific: Triumphs, Challenges, and Threats</em></a>, published by the University of Toronto Press. He previously authored a book on the politics of Indonesia titled <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Indonesia-Islam-International-Political-Economy/dp/0415788870"><em>Indonesia, Islam, and the International Political Economy: Clash or Cooperation?</em></a>.</p><p>Says Mark: “My road to China is through this broader prism of the politics of the Asia-Pacific.”</p><p>In <em>Politics of the Asia-Pacific</em>, Mark discusses the so-called “East-Asian Miracle” as it was referred to by the World Bank in a 1993 publication. In that publication, it is said that the economic success of the Asia-Pacific had a 1 in 10,000 chance of occurring.</p><p>This success did not come about by chance, of course; it’s by design, thanks to public officials working with government bureaucracies as well as heads of major industries to coordinate what is sometimes called a “developmental state model” for the region. This way, the government channels investment into specific industries to try to find and maximize comparative advantages rather than just leaving