Asia Alone: The Dangerous Post-Crisis Divide from America.

• Author: Fransius, Andreas
• Position: Book review

ASIA ALONE: THE DANGEROUS POST-CRISIS DIVIDE FROM AMERICA

Simon Tay

(Singapore: John Wiley & Sons (Asia) Pte. Ltd., 2010), 206 pages.

Asia was forced to implement stricter fiscal policies and cut back spending in the wake of the 1997 Asian financial crisis, yet the United States responded to the 2007 financial crisis that pro yoked the Great Recession by incurring a budget deficit in order to stimulate the economy. The stark contrast between the fiscal policies implemented in Asia and the freewheeling bailout measures pursued by the United States has led many Asians to question the consistency of U.S. policy recommendations and leadership in the region.

It is within this context of rising mistrust that Simon Tay's Asia Alone makes a timely contribution to the debate. Tay argues that the United States has increasingly taken a backseat role in the region while Asians are integrating on their own, notably through a web of bilateral trade deals. In order to bridge this divide, regionalism should be combined with U.S. engagement on terms that are more befitting of a multipolar world. Tay goes on to posit that the United States plays a crucial role in facilitating the integration of Asian countries in the world economy, a process that could also yield considerable economic benefits for the United States.

The author...