While policy shifts since the 1980s have enabled many East Asian countries to share in a newfound prosperity, periodic reminders of enduring security problems in the region have punctuated this era of peace and growth.Yet little research has addressed the question of whether these security problems pose a threat to the region's record of economic success, or whether that economic success and the greater levels of international economic cooperation that have accompanied it provide a foundation for political cooperation and the management of security problems. This volume sheds new light on these important questions.It discusses and evaluates leading theories that offer explanations for the connection between economic and security affairs in international politics, and addresses a diverse set of topics that bear specifically on the interaction of economics and security in East Asia ? offering some comparisons with evidence from the European experience and addressing the increasingly prominent role of China.Ultimately, it offers diverse assessments of the consequences of deepening economic activity and evolving security concerns within the region.