China’s Rise, Deglobalization and the Future of Indo-Pacific Governance - AsiaGlobal Papers No. 2

International politics has shifted from unipolarity to bipolarity. This is accompanied by rising China-US strategic rivalry fuelled by incompatible visions of international governance. Meanwhile, social discontent is widespread around the world, which stems from unequal distribution of globalization’s costs and benefits. These two trends are reducing the prospects for global security and prosperity, leaving countries to fend for themselves in an increasingly polarized state-centric order. In this AsiaGlobal Paper, Professor David Arase discusses the potential impact of these developments on the future of the Indo-Pacific region.

Keywords: Indo-Pacific, global governance; regional governance; China’s rise; bipolarity; strategic competition; globalization; deglobalization; double movement; structural realism; power transition theory; Belt and Road Initiative (BRI); Chinese Dream; Community of Shared Human Fate; Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP); Quadrilateral Strategic Dialogue; Quad; partnership networks; infrastructure connectivity; Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN); South China Sea.