Asia Alone

Asia Rises from the Ashes

In 1997, Thailand’s currency collapsed, precipitating the Asian financial crisis. The fall of the baht had severe negative economic consequences for the entire region. Asian nations pulled out of their financial slump by developing a strong base of manufacturing that relies heavily on the US as its end market.

In 2008, with the US at the epicenter of a raging financial storm, nations across the globe suffered grievous economic losses. Yet Asian banks, which instituted effective measures to restore their finances after the 1997-98 emergency, rode out the storm relatively well. But the 2008-09 crisis pulled Asia and the US apart in an economic decoupling. Asian nations want to rebalance their economic affairs with the US to achieve parity. Some hope to export goods to one another and thus make up the shortfall resulting from the contraction of the American market.

This hope parallels the new economic reality that commentator Fareed Zakaria terms a “post-American world,” where China, India, Brazil and Russia enjoy more geopolitical influence. Zakaria believes a new global order must feature cooperation and partnership among nations, and...