Conclusion: What Is the Asia-Pacific's Likely Security Future?

This chapter concludes the book by examining four major models that have been applied to assess the politics of the security order in the Asia-Pacific. The first three fall under the neorealist approach. The first model refers to an order where one country is dominant and where the other countries largely accept its dominance. The second, strategic condominium, is present when great powers agree to share power with one another. The third, a balance-of-power system, describes an order that is expected to emerge from the equilibrium or balance generated by competition between the key players. The fourth and final model, institutionalism, comes from the neoliberal approach and describes a situation in which multilateral organisations become the main instruments for addressing challenges and often for managing the actions of the larger powers. The key message to take away from this chapter is that, although none of these models fully captures the current dynamics of Asia-Pacific security, the regions most likely security future can best be anticipated by drawing upon elements of each of them.