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  "authors": [
    "Ashley J. Tellis"
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    "Carnegie Endowment for International Peace"
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Source: Getty

Testimony

Asia's Economic and Political Resurgence

Asia’s resurgence is revolutionary; Asia will contribute 43% of world GDP by 2020, is the second global hub of innovation, and has amassed a tremendous amount of military power. But the resurgence is also incomplete. Large swaths remain outside of Asia’s economic “miracle,” political systems remain at various stages of development, and Asian nations face many religious and ideological challenges.

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By Ashley J. Tellis
Published on Oct 31, 2007
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Program

Asia

The Asia Program in Washington studies disruptive security, governance, and technological risks that threaten peace, growth, and opportunity in the Asia-Pacific region, including a focus on China, Japan, and the Korean peninsula.

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Program

South Asia

The South Asia Program informs policy debates relating to the region’s security, economy, and political development. From strategic competition in the Indo-Pacific to India’s internal dynamics and U.S. engagement with the region, the program offers in-depth, rigorous research and analysis on South Asia’s most critical challenges.

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Source: Testimony before French White Paper Commission

Ashley J. Tellis, testifying before the French White Paper Commission on Defense and National Security, said that there is widespread acceptance of Asia’s rise as an international player. In fact, said Tellis, Asia’s rise is really a resurgence, a return to the economic and political dominance that it enjoyed before the 16th century.
     Asia’s resurgence is revolutionary; Asia will contribute 43% of world GDP by 2020, is the second global hub of innovation, and has amassed a tremendous amount of military power. But the resurgence is also incomplete. Large swaths remain outside of Asia’s economic “miracle,” political systems remain at various stages of development, and Asian nations face many religious and ideological challenges.
     The combination of the strength and weakness of Asian states implies both challenges to and opportunities for cooperation with Europe and the United States, noted Tellis. The U.S. will remain engaged in Asia, as Asian issues continue to be inextricably tied to global issues and the U.S. maneuvers to maintain its primacy. Ultimately, it remains to be seen whether Asia’s multipolarity leaves it “ripe for rivalry” or “primed for peace.”
     Tellis said that the four central challenges posed by Asia’s to U.S. and European interests are:

• Will the region produce new rising powers that could disturb the existing power configuration in global politics?
• Will the region’s weaknesses produce threats to our common security and well-being?
• Will the region’s behaviors produce collective action problems that undermine our common security and well-being?
• Will the region produce new partners that can collaborate in the attainment of common goals?

You can watch the video of Tellis' testimony, in French, here.

About the Author

Ashley J. Tellis

Former Senior Fellow

Ashley J. Tellis was a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

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Ashley J. Tellis
Former Senior Fellow
EconomyTradeSouth AsiaEast AsiaSoutheast Asia

Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.

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