Over the past fifteen years Northeast Asia has witnessed growing intraregional exchanges and interactions, especially in the realms of culture and economy. Still, the region cannot escape from the burden of history. This book examines the formation of historical memory in four Northeast Asian societies (China, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan) and the United States focusing on the period from the beginning of the Sino-Japanese war in 1931 until the formal conclusion of the Pacific War with the San Francisco Peace Treaty of 1951. The contributors analyse the recent efforts of Korean, Japanese, and Chinese scholars to write a 'common history' of Northeast Asia and question the underlying motivations for their efforts and subsequent achievements. In doing so, they contend that the greatest obstacle to reconciliation in Northeast Asia lies in the existence of divided, and often conflicting, historical memories. The book argues that a more fruitful approach lies in understanding how historical memory has evolved in each country and been incorporated into respective master narratives. Through uncovering the existence of different master narratives, it is hoped, citizens will develop a more self-critical, self-reflective approach to their own history and that such an introspective effort has the potential to lay the foundation for greater self- and mutual understanding and eventual historical reconciliation in the region. This book will be essential reading for students and scholars of Asian history, Asian education and international relations in East Asia.

Over the past fifteen years Northeast Asia has witnessed growing intraregional exchanges and interactions, especially in the realms of culture and economy. Still, the region cannot escape from the burden of history. This book examines the formation of historical memory in four Northeast Asian societies (China, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan) and the United States focusing on the period from the beginning of the Sino-Japanese war in 1931 until the formal conclusion of the Pacific War with the San Francisco Peace Treaty of 1951. The contributors analyse the recent efforts of Korean, Japanese, and Chinese scholars to write a 'common history' of Northeast Asia and question the underlying motivations for their efforts and subsequent achievements. In doing so, they contend that the greatest obstacle to reconciliation in Northeast Asia lies in the existence of divided, and often conflicting, historical memories. The book argues that a more fruitful approach lies in understanding how historical memory has evolved in each country and been incorporated into respective master narratives. Through uncovering the existence of different master narratives, it is hoped, citizens will develop a more self-critical, self-reflective approach to their own history and that such an introspective effort has the potential to lay the foundation for greater self- and mutual understanding and eventual historical reconciliation in the region. This book will be essential reading for students and scholars of Asian history, Asian education and international relations in East Asia.

Does South Asia exist? Globally, regional integration and prominent regional institution --such as the European Union and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations --have been on the rise. In South Asia, by contrast, such progress has been slow, despite the recent dynamic growth of India's economy.

This broad-based volume examines the prospects for regionalism in South Asia, assessing issues that drive greater regional integration and obstacles that prevent it. How does South Asia's experience of regionalism compare with other parts of the world? What different perspectives do South Asia's sometimes contentious neighbors bring to the regional process? How do those attitudes help or hinder solutions to peculiarly South Asian challenges? The book devotes particular attention to India, the largest power in the region, and analyzes the extent to which it drives or blocks greater regionalism. As the book's distinguished contributors reveal, the provocative question at the heart of this timely book defies easy answers.

Copublished with the Observer Research Foundation, New Delhi.

Northeast Asia stands at a turning point in its history. The key economies of China, Japan, and South Korea are growing increasingly interdependent, and the movement toward regionalism is gaining momentum. Yet interdependency, often set in a global context, also spurs nationalism in all three countries, and elsewhere in East Asia. Northeast Asia today feels the presence of all three complex forces -national, regional, and global -connecting, competing, and colliding in myriad ways. The authors of this book assess current interactions of national and regional forces in Northeast Asia, in the context of U.S. presence in the region. These seemingly contradictory forces must be considered together; the sparks they generate have important policy implications for the United States and for the region as a whole. Constructive reformulation of these interactions is one of Northeast Asia's most pressing contemporary challenges.

"First Drafts of Korea" examines how the American mass media shapes U.S.perceptions of Korea and, thereby, U.S. foreign policy. Beginning with a detailed analysis of American newspapers' coverage of Korea between 1992 and 2003, the book features essays from Western journalists and senior U.S. officials with firsthand experience in Korea over the past two decades.

From the democratization of South Korea in the 1980s to the current North Korean nuclear crises, these distinguished contributors offer unique insight into American media coverage of Korea and its impact on policymaking. A complex, shifting portrait emerges, as befits a nation that is itself evolving and growing in global stature.