Asia: A Geopolitical Reconfiguration
The Asian “supercomplex” has taken shape: this is evident within the cross-membership model to Asian intergovernmental organizations and through the appearance of political counterweights to China, particularly in India.
The United States" engagements in East and South Asia are also part of this supercomplex. The hardening of Beijing since 2008 has helped maintain US influence in Asia, despite Washington’s decline on the international stage.
Barry Buzan is an Honorary Professor in international relations at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), and is also an associate research fellow at the LSE IDEAS Center. he is also a member of the British Academy. He is the author of: International Systems in World History: Remaking the Study of International Relations (with Richard Little, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2000), Regions and Powers. The Structure of International Security (with Ole Waever, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2003), From International to World Society? (Cambridge, CUP, 2004) and The Evolution of International Security Studies (with Lene Hansen, Cambridge, CUP, 2009).
Available in:
Regions and themes
Share
Download the full analysis
This page contains only a summary of our work. If you would like to have access to all the information from our research on the subject, you can download the full version in PDF format.
Asia: A Geopolitical Reconfiguration
Related centers and programs
Discover our other research centers and programsFind out more
Discover all our analysesExpanding SPDMM as a pivotal institution in the Pacific – A French perspective
The South Pacific Defence Ministers’ Meeting (SPDMM) is the only forum that brings together defense ministers from the wider South Pacific — including Chile, which is hosting it for the first time. This heterogeneous group of countries with varying resources, capacities, and interests — Australia, Chile, Fiji, France, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea (PNG), and Tonga — are united by their shared determination to strengthen cooperation on maritime security and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR) activities.
EU’s Derisking From China: A Daunting Task
With economic security as a major concern, the EU has recently turned to “derisking” from China. The EU strategy entails reducing critical dependencies and vulnerabilities, including in EU supply chains, and diversifying where necessary, while recognizing the importance and need to maintain open channels of communication.
Sri Lanka’s NPP Government. From System Change to Structural Compliance
In September 2024, a relative outsider to Sri Lanka’s two-party-dominated political system, Anura Kumara Dissanayake, won the presidential elections. The anti-establishment, populist movement he represented, the National People’s Power (NPP), went on to receive an overwhelming mandate in the November 2024 general elections, winning 159 seats in a 225-member parliament.
Japan Under Trump: Alliance Strains, the Push for Autonomy and Essential Partnerships
Japan is under pressure from the United States (US) on punitive tariffs and demands for increased defence spending. This has sparked deep concern over US credibility and triggered growing domestic calls for greater autonomy.