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The Pacific Century is a term describing a potential 21st-century dominance of Pacific Rim countries.

History

Precursors

The prediction that the Pacific would transcend the Atlantic as a "center of gravity of world commerce" has been credited to Marx and Engels.

Though the concept of an American Pacific Century came to be discussed more towards the 21st century, Christopher Capozzola has argued that an American Pacific Century already happened in the 20th century, with the 1898 American annexation of the Philippines having led into heavy American involvement in the Pacific region. Mark Borthwick has also argued that the 20th century was a Pacific Century of sorts, since the westernization that took place in Pacific Asia at the time paved the way for the region's rise.

Modern history

The concept of a Pacific Century began to receive greater support in the late 20th century as Pacific Asian economies grew rapidly. By the late 1970s, the concept of a Pacific Century was used in America to describe a potential economic integration of America's West Coast with Japan. The 1989 formation of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum was seen as a significant turning point for the Pacific Rim towards a post–Cold War era, while by 1991, America's transpacific trade had become 1/3rd greater than its transatlantic trade. A consensus began to emerge that Asia would form a significant part of the future and no longer be economically outpaced by America, especially after the 2007–2008 financial crisis and Great Recession.

In 2011, United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced the beginning of "America's Pacific Century" under the ambit of a broader shift in American foreign policy known as the Pivot to Asia. Over time, the concept of a Pacific Century has become intertwined with various developments in the broader neighborhood of Asia and the Indo-Pacific, such as the desire of some Indo-Pacific countries to contain China; America has a history of working against other powers achieving regional dominance in the Pacific stretching back to the 19th century, and so tensions between America and China for dominance in the region have become increasingly relevant. This has led to discussion around a potential "Indo-Pacific Century" instead.

See also

• Asian Century

References

1. Gibney, Frank (1992). The Pacific Century: America and Asia in a Changing World. C. Scribner's Sons. ISBN 978-0-684-19349-6.
2. Palat, Ravi Arvind (1996). "Pacific Century: Myth or Reality?". Theory and Society. 25 (3): 303–347. doi:10.1007/BF00158261. ISSN 0304-2421. JSTOR 658049.
3. Capozzola, Christopher (2020-07-28). Bound by War: How the United States and the Philippines Built America's First Pacific Century. Basic Books. ISBN 978-1-5416-1826-8.
4. Borthwick, Mark (2018-04-20). Pacific Century: The Emergence of Modern Pacific Asia. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-429-97452-6.
5. Waibel, Michael; Kreisel, Werner, eds. (2005). The Pacific challenge: Development trends in the 21st century. Universitätsverlag Göttingen. doi:10.17875/gup2005-221. hdl:20.500.12657/36970. ISBN 978-3-938616-10-9.
6. ^ "Introduction: The rise of East Asia: Critical visions of the Pacific Century", The Rise of East Asia, Routledge, pp. 13–46, 2002-09-11, doi:10.4324/9780203076606-5, ISBN 978-0-203-07660-6, retrieved 2024-07-25
7. Foot, Rosemary; Walter, Andrew (1999-12-01). "Whatever happened to the Pacific Century?". Review of International Studies. 25 (5): 245–269. doi:10.1017/S0260210599002454. ISSN 0260-2105.
8. Scott, David (2007-08-26). "The 21st Century as Whose Century?". Journal of World-Systems Research: 96–118. doi:10.5195/jwsr.2007.350. ISSN 1076-156X.
9. "Carving Out A Place In The Pacific Century". Bloomberg.com. 1991-11-11. Retrieved 2024-07-25.
10. "The Pacific Century Myth?". thediplomat.com. Retrieved 2024-07-25.
11. Lawson, Stephanie, ed. (2024), "Geopolitics in the Pacific Century", Regional Politics in Oceania: From Colonialism and Cold War to the Pacific Century, LSE International Studies, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 326–360, doi:10.1017/9781009427609.014, ISBN 978-1-009-42763-0, retrieved 2024-07-25
12. McGregor, Richard (2018-12-04). Asia's Reckoning: China, Japan, and the Fate of U.S. Power in the Pacific Century. Penguin. ISBN 978-0-399-56269-3.
13. "A new dawn: Quad leaders vow to define the Indo-Pacific century". Nikkei Asia. Retrieved 2024-09-07.
14. Brewster, David. The Indo-Pacific century: new concept, new challenges.
15. "Australia in the 'Indo-Pacific' century: rewards, risks, relationships". www.aph.gov.au. Retrieved 2024-09-07.

External links

• America’s Pacific Century

• 21st century
• Pacific Rim
• Rises to prominence