This book examines the strategic interactions among China, the United States, Japan, and Southeast Asian States in the context of China's rise and globalization after the cold war. Engaging the mainstream theoretical debates in international relations, the author introduces a new theoretical framework-institutional realism-to explain the institutionalization of world politics in the Asia-Pacific after the cold war.

Kai He is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at Utah State University.

1. China's Rise and the Institutionalization of Security in the Asia-Pacific 2. China's Institutional Balancing: Peaceful Rise? 3. America's Institutional Balancing: Pragmatic Engagement 4. Japan's Institutional Balancing: Normalizing Foreign Policy 5. ASEAN's Institutional Balancing: Seeking Security among Giants 6. Institutional Balancing and the Rise of China. Methodological Appendix: Comparative Case Studies and Qualitative Methods