Asia's Cauldron: The South China Sea and the End of a Stable Pacific by Robert D. Kaplan

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY FINANCIAL TIMES From Robert D. Kaplan, named one of the world's Top 100 Global Thinkers by Foreign Policy magazine, comes a penetrating look at the volatile region that will dominate the future of geopolitical conflict. Over the last decade, the center of world power has been quietly shifting from Europe to Asia. With oil reserves of several billion barrels, an estimated nine hundred trillion cubic feet of natural gas, and several centuries' worth of competing territorial claims, the South China Sea in particular is a simmering pot of potential conflict. The underreported military buildup in the area where the Western Pacific meets the Indian Ocean means that it will likely be a hinge point for global war and peace for the foreseeable future. In Asia's Cauldron, Robert D. Kaplan offers up a vivid snapshot of the nations surrounding the South China Sea, the conflicts brewing in the region at the dawn of the twenty-first century, and their implications for global peace and stability. One of the world's most perceptive foreign policy experts, Kaplan interprets America's interests in Asia in the context of an increasingly assertive China. He explains how the region's unique geography fosters the growth of navies but also impedes aggression. And he draws a striking parallel between China's quest for hegemony in the South China Sea and the United States' imperial adventure in the Caribbean more than a century ago. To understand the future of conflict in East Asia, Kaplan argues, one must understand the goals and motivations of its leaders and its people. Part travelogue, part geopolitical primer, Asia's Cauldron takes us on a journey through the region's boom cities and ramshackle slums: from Vietnam, where the superfueled capitalism of the erstwhile colonial capital, Saigon, inspires the geostrategic pretensions of the official seat of government in Hanoi, to Malaysia, where a unique mix of authoritarian Islam and Western-style consumerism creates quite possibly the ultimate postmodern society; and from Singapore, whose benevolent autocracy helped foster an economic miracle, to the Philippines, where a different brand of authoritarianism under Ferdinand Marcos led not to economic growth but to decades of corruption and crime. At a time when every day's news seems to contain some new story--large or small--that directly relates to conflicts over the South China Sea, Asia's Cauldron is an indispensable guide to a corner of the globe that will affect all of our lives for years to come. Praise for Asia's Cauldron Asia's Cauldron is a short book with a powerful thesis, and it stands out for its clarity and good sense. . . . If you are doing business in China, traveling in Southeast Asia or just obsessing about geopolitics, you will want to read it.--The New York Times Book Review Kaplan has established himself as one of our most consequential geopolitical thinkers. . . . [Asia's Cauldron] is part treatise on geopolitics, part travel narrative. Indeed, he writes in the tradition of the great travel writers.--The Weekly Standard Kaplan's fascinating book is a welcome challenge to the pessimists who see only trouble in China's rise and the hawks who view it as malign.--The Economist Muscular, deeply knowledgeable . . . Kaplan is an ultra-realist [who] takes a non-moralistic stance on questions of power and diplomacy.--Financial Times Editorial Reviews This is the latest in a series of insightful books . . . in which Robert D. Kaplan . . . tries to explain how geography determines destiny--and what we should be doing about it. Asia's Cauldron is a short book with a powerful thesis, and it stands out for its clarity and good sense from the great mass of Western writing on what Chinese politicians have taken to calling their 'peaceful development.' If you are doing business in China, traveling in Southeast Asia or just obsessing about geopolitics, you will want to read it. . . . Throughout the book, Kaplan tempers hard-nose geopolitics with an engaging mix of history and travelogue.--The New York Times Book Review Kaplan has established himself as one of our most consequential geopolitical thinkers. . . . [Asia's Cauldron] is part treatise on geopolitics, part travel narrative. Indeed, he writes in the tradition of the great travel writers.--The Weekly Standard Kaplan's fascinating book is a welcome challenge to the pessimists who see only trouble in China's rise and the hawks who view it as malign.--The Economist Muscular, deeply knowledgeable . . . Kaplan is an ultra-realist [who] takes a non-moralistic stance on questions of power and diplomacy.--Financial Times A riveting, multitextured look at an underexamined region of the world and, perhaps, at the 'anxious, complicated world' of the future.--Booklist Part travelogue, part history, and part geostrategic analysis, Asia's Cauldron sets some lofty goals for itself and largely succeeds in presenting a holistic look at the competing diplomatic and economic interests of the nations along the South China Sea. . . . This volume is an excellent primer to the conflicting ambitions, fears, and futures of the nations bordering this vital sea-lane, which will remain one of the most dangerous flashpoints of the coming decade.--New York Journal of Books In reminding Americans that their age of 'simple dominance' must pass, [Kaplan] avoids joining those groping in the dark and almost takes the detached stance of a historian of coming decades, describing how that future Asia came to be. This acceptance of Asia's complexity and the limits of influence that any outside power has may well be the most valuable lesson.--National Review Asia's Cauldron is a perfect summation of the present turbulent moment in history, when the World War II security structure is beginning a rapid transformation. Kaplan engages the striking possibilities of where the current confrontation between China and Japan could lead, and underscores the point that this is a lot more significant than a simple border dispute.--Paul Bracken, Yale University, author of The Second Nuclear Age Master global strategist Robert D. Kaplan turns his gaze to the bubbling heat of the South China Sea in his latest tour de force. Asia's Cauldron deconstructs the extreme volatility of this enormous, dangerous, and vital maritime space. By thoughtfully pulling apart the complex tangle of argument and accusation among the nations of the region, he helps provide a well-charted course for the United States in this most turbulent geopolitical zone of the twenty-first-century.--Admiral James Stavridis, United States Navy (Ret.), dean of the Fletcher School at Tufts University and Supreme Allied Commander of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, 2009-2013 Robert D. Kaplan has done it again: he has written an engaging--but disturbing--book about an area of the world that to most Americans is a distant rimland. Yet in an era of emerging Sino-American competition, the larger Southeast Asian region could well become the explosive cynosure of new great-power rivalries. Asia's Cauldron is a wonderful and captivating guide that illumines the myriad colliding forces that will shape the future of the Indo-Pacific.--Ashley J. Tellis, senior associate, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace - From the Publisher This is the latest in a series of insightful books, like The Revenge of Geography and The Coming Anarchy, in which Robert D. Kaplan...tries to explain how geography determines destiny-and what we should be doing about it. Asia's Cauldron is a short book with a powerful thesis, and it stands out for its clarity and good sense from the great mass of Western writing on what Chinese politicians have taken to calling their peaceful development. If you are doing business in China, traveling in Southeast Asia or just obsessing about geopolitics, you will want to read it. - The New York Times Book Review - Ian Morris By focusing on the nations that are touched by the South China Sea, this audiobook approaches the global shift towards Asia from a rather narrow perspective. The author argues that this is where geopolitics, economics, war, and peace will converge in the near future and where any country that wants world influence will need to concentrate a good deal of its energy. Narrator Michael Prichard possesses a distinctive, authoritative voice that's deep, clear, and easy to follow. In this effort, though, he sounds unengaged, and the result is a book with an important message being delivered in a desultory manner. There are times when he sounds more connected to the material, but those moments are few. R.I.G. AudioFile 2014, Portland, Maine - MAY 2014 - AudioFile 2014-02-13 A foreign policy expert looks at the major players in the Southeast Asia Pacific Rim and their nervous watching of what China will do. Atlantic foreign correspondent Kaplan (The Revenge of Geography: What the Map Tells Us About Coming Conflicts and the Battle Against Fate, 2012, etc.) frequently refers to geography as key in determining developments in the countries he addresses with his keen insight: namely, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, Taiwan and China. Indeed, these--save the Philippines, still mired in American colonial dependency--have evolved into post-Cold War economic dynamos, with varying blends of democracy and authoritarianism. Thus, for the first time, they can flex their muscles at sea by making territorial claims against each other regarding the rich oil and natural gas reserves harbored among the straits and the hundreds of islands scattered throughout the area. Kaplan compares China's position amid the South China Sea grouping as akin to America's practically sovereign regard of the Greater Caribbean--that is, if China were finally to Finlandize Taiwan and replace the U.S. Navy's domination in the area. As the U.S. downgrades its naval presence and continues to be distracted by wars in Afghanistan and elsewhere, China is ramping up its military presence. Although Kaplan claims there is no moral fury roiling the area, his discrete breakdown of each country delineates many troubling authoritarian histories, with a blithe dismissal of democratic tenets. For example, Kaplan acknowledges the ends-justifies-the-means approach of China's Deng Xiaoping and Singapore's Lee Kuan Yew, who effected economic miracles while ruling with an iron grip. The author's considerations of jihadist insurgent threats in Indonesia and elsewhere seem tepid. An up-and-down examination in which the author claims that the future of the Pacific Rim will be decided not by what China does but by what America does. - Kirkus Reviews