The Asian Future

From the visionary bestselling author of The Second World and How to Run the World comes a bracing and authoritative guide to a future shaped less by national borders than by global supply chains, a world in which the most connected powers—and people—will win. Connectivity is the most revolutionary force of the twenty-first century. Mankind is reengineering the planet, investing up to ten trillion dollars per year in transportation, energy, and communications infrastructure linking the world’s burgeoning megacities together. This has profound consequences for geopolitics, economics, demographics, the environment, and social identity. Connectivity, not geography, is our destiny. In Connectography, visionary strategist Parag Khanna travels from Ukraine to Iran, Mongolia to North Korea, Pakistan to Nigeria, and across the Arctic Circle and the South China Sea to explain the rapid and unprecedented changes affecting every part of the planet. He shows how militaries are deployed to protect supply chains as much as borders, and how nations are less at war over territory than engaged in tugs-of-war over pipelines, railways, shipping lanes, and Internet cables. The new arms race is to connect to the most markets—a race China is now winning, having launched a wave of infrastructure investments to unite Eurasia around its new Silk Roads. The United States can only regain ground by fusing with its neighbors into a super-continental North American Union of shared resources and prosperity. Connectography offers a unique and hopeful vision for the future. Khanna argues that new energy discoveries and technologies have eliminated the need for resource wars; ambitious transport corridors and power grids are unscrambling Africa’s fraught colonial borders; even the Arab world is evolving a more peaceful map as it builds resource and trade routes across its war-torn landscape. At the same time, thriving hubs such as Singapore and Dubai are injecting dynamism into young and heavily populated regions, cyber-communities empower commerce across vast distances, and the world’s ballooning financial assets are being wisely invested into building an inclusive global society. Beneath the chaos of a world that appears to be falling apart is a new foundation of connectivity pulling it together. Praise for Connectography “Incredible . . . With the world rapidly changing and urbanizing, [Khanna’s] proposals might be the best way to confront a radically different future.”—The Washington Post “Clear and coherent . . . a well-researched account of how companies are weaving ever more complicated supply chains that pull the world together even as they squeeze out inefficiencies. . . . [He] has succeeded in demonstrating that the forces of globalization are winning.”—Adrian Woolridge, The Wall Street Journal “Bold . . . With an eye for vivid details, Khanna has . . . produced an engaging geopolitical travelogue.”—Foreign Affairs “For those who fear that the world is becoming too inward-looking, Connectography is a refreshing, optimistic vision.”—The Economist “Connectivity has become a basic human right, and gives everyone on the planet the opportunity to provide for their family and contribute to our shared future. Connectography charts the future of this connected world.”—Marc Andreessen, general partner, Andreessen Horowitz “Khanna’s scholarship and foresight are world-class. A must-read for the next president.”—Chuck Hagel, former U.S. secretary of defense This title has complex layouts that may take longer to download.

Drawing on historical sociology, transnational histories and Asian traditions, Duara seeks answers to the pressing global issue of environmental sustainability.

This book is a history of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), a multilateral development bank established 50 years ago to serve Asia and the Pacific. Focusing on the region’s economic development, the evolution of the international development agenda, and the story of ADB itself, this book raises several key questions: What are the outstanding features of regional development to which ADB had to respond? How has the bank grown and evolved in changing circumstances? How did ADB’s successive leaders promote reforms while preserving continuity with the efforts of their predecessors? ADB has played an important role in the transformation of Asia and the Pacific the past 50 years. As ADB continues to evolve and adapt to the region’s changing development landscape, the experiences highlighted in this book can provide valuable insight on how best to serve Asia and the Pacific in the future.

Over the last few years Asian governments have taken a stronger approach to the Arctic, culminating with permanent-observer status to the Arctic Council for China, India, Japan, Singapore and South-Korea in May 2013. This groundbreaking book brings together the latest research in emerging Asian interests for the Arctic region, and the implications thereof this change has for the future. This book covers Arctic shipping, fisheries and mineral extraction. It analyzes key Asian countries' policies, positions and activities. The book also demonstrates that there are common aspects which attract Asian countries to the Arctic, such as a concern for climate change, but there are also important national differences. From the Arctic Council to UNCLOS, Arctic governance mechanisms are thoroughly presented and analyzed. Contributed by scholars from both Asia — China, India, Japan, Singapore and South-Korea — as well as Arctic countries — Norway and USA, this book is an essential source of reference for both academics and government professionals, as well for the readers keen on understanding the dynamic change in the Arctic region. Contents:Governance and Cooperation:Adaptive Governance for a Changing Arctic (Oran R Young)The Arctic Governance and the Interactions between Arctic and Non-Arctic Countries (YANG Jian)Can Asian Involvement Strengthen Arctic Governance? (Olav Schram Stokke)High North: High Politics or Low Tension? Cooperation and Conflict in the Arctic (Jo Inge Bekkevold)Analysis of International Arctic Cooperation Mechanisms among the Nordic Countries (CHENG Baozhi)Economic Development:International Use of the Northern Sea Route — Trends and Prospects (Arild Moe)A Comparative Study of the Administration of the Canadian Northwest Passage and the Russian Northern Sea Route (ZOU Leilei and HUANG Shuolin)Governance and Ownership of the Arctic Ocean: Living Resources and the Continental Shelf (Njord Wegge)Arctic Mining: Asian Interests and Opportunities (Iselin Stensdal)Asia in the Arctic:Japan's Arctic Policy Development: From Engagement to a Strategy (Fujio Ohnishi)India's Arctic Attention (Uttam Sinha)Asian Economic Interests in the Arctic — Singapore's Perspective (CHEN Gang)Changes in the Arctic and China's Participation in Arctic Governance (ZHANG Pei and YANG Jian)The Cooperation and Competition between China, Japan, and South Korea in the Arctic (GONG Keyu)Findings and Challenges of the North Pacific Arctic Conference (Jong-Deog Kim)The Future of the Arctic and the Asian Countries: Concluding Remarks (Iselin Stensdal) Readership: Academics, undergraduate and graduate students, professionals, and policy makers interested in major Asian countries' Arctic interests, Arctic governance, economic development in the Arctic regions, Northern Sea Route and Northwestern Passage. Key Features:Addresses a topic which has been previously little covered, but is of growing global interestRepresents one of the first efforts to bring all relevant Asian countries together to discuss Arctic issuesContributed by Scholars from Asia and Arctic CountriesKeywords:Arctic;Asia;China;India;Japan;Singapore;South Korea;Governance;Regional Politics;Cooperation;Conflict;Economy;Shipping;Mining;Fishery;Northern Sea Route;Northwestern Passage

This book reviews progress with regional cooperation and integration in Asia and the Pacific and explores how it can be reshaped to achieve a more resilient, sustainable, and inclusive future. Consisting of papers contributed by renowned scholars and Asian Development Bank staff, the book covers four major areas: public goods, trade and investment, financial cooperation, and regional health cooperation. The book emphasizes how the region can better leverage regional integration to realize its vast potential as well as overcome challenges such as the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.

Brings together the ideas and experiences of some of Asia's outstanding politicians, intellectuals and social activists. Through in-depth interviews, provides an overview and critique of the present system and describes a vision of a new Asian society.

The role of cities in addressing climate change is increasingly recognised in international arenas, including the Sustainable Development Goals, the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, and the New Urban Agenda. Asia is home to many of the countries that are most vulnerable to climate change impacts and, along with Africa, will be the site of most urban population growth over the coming decades. Bringing together a range of city experiences, Responding to Climate Change in Asian Cities provides valuable insights into how cities can overcome some of the barriers to building climate resilience, including addressing the needs of vulnerable populations. The chapters are centred on an overarching understanding that adaptive urban governance is necessary for climate resilience. This requires engaging with different actors to take into account their experiences, vulnerabilities and priorities; building knowledge, including collecting and using appropriate evidence; and understanding the institutions shaping interactions between actors, from the national to the local level. The chapters draw on a mix of research methodologies, demonstrating the variety of approaches to understanding and building urban resilience that can be applied in urban settings. Bringing together a range of expert contributors, this book will be of great interest to scholars of urban studies, sustainability and environmental studies, development studies and Asian studies.

This report is an important resource to explore critical and emerging policy opportunities to realize urban sustainability for the Asian and Pacific region. It informs policies and actions from a sustainable development perspective, putting cities at the centre of development policy debates. It identifies future policy pathways for urban decision makers and stakeholders to reimagine the built and natural environments in Asian and Pacific cities and offers policy solutions across different types of cities to achieve the global development agendas. The solutions address four major development challenges – natural resource management, climate change, disaster risk and inequalities – through a focus on the key means of implementation to accelerate the achievement of the 2030 Agenda.