Bulletin of Peace Proposals, Vol. 23 (2): 173-184 (1992) SAGE Publications Peace and Security in the Asia Pacific Region - Post Cold War Problems and Prospects Kevin P. Clements* University of Canterbury 1. Introdriction The end of the Cold War has not yet resulted in any extra guarantees of security, stability or peacefulness in international relations. On the contrary, the collapse of the bipolar order has generated profound anxieties about the precise contours of a new world order. This anxiety is both posi- tive and negative: positive insofar as it stimulates new and creative ways of organiz- ing national and international relations, but negative if it results i n . a reassertion of Realpolitik where dominant nations seek to advance their interests by coercive means when more peaceful means fail. One thing is clear: the world and regional order is in flux, and this represents dangers and opportunities for nation-states and peoples. The dangers lie in the reassertion of outmoded and inappropriate paradigms. The opportunities arise from the conscious negotiation of more appropriate paradigms which might enable peoples, communities and nations to live in peace (in both nega- tive and positive terms) and turn their com- bined attention to problem-solving rather than the blind promotion of national or sectional interest.' A major aspect of this task is a movement beyond judgemental politics to a more inclusive, no-fault approach to solving common problems.2 This is the vision. There is considerable uncertainty about how to achieve it and * Kevin P. Clements is Senior Lecturer, Depart- ment of Sociology and Coordinator of Peace Studies, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand. He is also Secretary General of the Asian Peace Research Association. what a world order based on it would look like. In the meantime, communities and peoples long oppressed by totalitarian re- gimes are now reasserting their ethnic and cultural identities, challenging nation-states to address questions of sovereignty and government which were long assumed resolved. The questioning of old orders is manifesting itself in challenges to arbitrary and repressive government, an upsurge of atavistic tribal sentiments, secessionist im- pulses and challenges to the validity of old defence and security doctrines - particularly all those based on the assumption of per- manent bipolar confrontation. Since the Asia Pacific region can be seen as a microcosm of the world as a whole, an evaluation of the processes at work here may help us understand what is or is not likely to generate stable regional and global peace. The region straddles the North- South divide. It is highly heterogeneous - ethnically, politically and economically - and poses a series of interesting challenges to scholars concerned with an end to militar- ization, with non-violent resolution of con- flict, and with whether or not economic processes are capable of integrating diverse ethnic and political systems. 2. Positive Processes Some of the positive processes facilitating new holistic thinking about the Asia Pacific region and the world in general are as follows. (1) The end of the Cold War and bipolar confrontation has generated a unique oppor- tunity for new thinking about international relations. Coupled with yawning budget