Southeast Asia and the Pacific Realm is a region dominated by islands, including the continent of Australia. Its landscapes range from tropical rainforests to dry deserts and active volcanoes, and to the south is the icy continent of Antarctica. This title examines how this diverse region of sharp cultural contrasts is meeting the challenges of the 21st century.
Australia and the Pacific Realm is a region that comprises thousands of islands in the Pacific Ocean, from tiny atolls to the world's smallest continent. The histories of area governments are as distinct as the many island countries that exist in this region. This book explores the historical events, movements, and people who have shaped the region of Australia and the Pacific Realm. Fact-filled sidebars, beautiful photographs, and primary sources help readers connect with this region and its place in the larger world.
This wide ranging book explores the Pacific Ocean's place in human history, drawing together its long and varied physical, economic, cultural and political history, from Prehistory through to the present day.
The development of complex cultural behaviour in our own species is perhaps the most significant research issue in modern archaeology. Until recently, it was believed that our capacity for language and art only developed after some of our ancestors reached Europe around 40,000 years ago. Archaeological discoveries in Africa now show that modern humans were practicing symbolic behaviours prior to their dispersal from that continent, and more recent discoveries in Indonesia and Australia are once again challenging ideas about human cultural development. Despite these significant discoveries and exciting potentials, there is a curious absence of published information about Asia-Pacific region, and consequently, global narratives of our most celebrated cognitive accomplishment — art — has consistently underrepresented the contribution of Southeast Asia, Australia, and the Pacific Islands. This volume provides the first outline of what this region has to offer to the world of art in archaeology. Readers undertaking tertiary archaeology courses interested in the art of the Asia-Pacific region or human behavioural evolution, along with anyone who is fascinated by the development of our modern ability to decorate ourselves and our world, should find this book a good addition to their library.
The shift in the framework of Australia’s strategic thinking from the Asia-Pacific to the Indo-Pacific reflects the primary focus on the maritime environment in the coming decades and the expectation that over time India will become more embedded in the strategic dynamics of the Asia-Pacific. India is in the midst of a major geopolitical repositioning, as it pursues a hard-headed national interests-based policy and builds stronger strategic ties with a wide range of countries including the United States and its allies in the region. The region is entering a potentially dangerous phase in U.S.–China relations. China’s rise needs to be managed not frustrated; balanced not contained. Constructing that balance and anchoring China in a new multi-polar strategic equilibrium in the Indo-Pacific is the big challenge of our time. More and more individual Southeast Asian countries are being pulled into China’s orbit: not with enthusiasm or conviction but because they see that the economic cost of opposing China’s agenda is too high. The United States is so far doing little to change this.
The GFC has highlighted the critical importance of Australia's engagement with the US and industrialising giants of Asia. Increasingly, governments such as South Australia's are engaging directly with the region in an attempt to strengthen economic ties. The Engaging State shines a light on emerging forms of engagement in the Asia-Pacific.
