Edition 18: In the Neighbourhood

In the Neighbourhood explores Australia's increasingly close connections with Asia from business, trade and education to migration.

But public debate and understanding of what this may mean, has not kept pace. The rapid changes in the region will shape the Pacific Century. This demands tough new thinking. Location provides both opportunities and challenges.

Michael Wesley argues in a provocative essay that history has not ended, but the future will be shaped by a resurgence of the world's oldest civilisations.

Australian engagement is crucial. This goes beyond business and security to questions of identity, belonging and culture. When Kevin Rudd spoke in Mandarin at the APEC forum, he suggested Australia could play a new and important role in regional geo politics, on its own terms.

In the Neighbourhood presents a rich tapestry of the diversity of the region – a mosaic of cultural and social interaction that touches the heart. Writers with deep knowledge take us on an exotic and pragmatic
journey and provide signposts to the future.

Other writers include:

Geremie R Barmé, Brian Castro, Phil Brown, Jane Camens, Ouyang Yu, Bei Ling, Nicholas Jose, Pat Hoffie, Patrick Holland, Tony Barrell, Rachel Buchanan, Shane Strange, Larry Buttrose, Laurie Hergenhan, Wayne McLennan, Charlotte Teek, Peter Mares, Roger Trowbridge, Jim Chalmers, Jane Nicholls, Xavier Hennekinne and Michael Vatikiotis.
Poems by Therese Van Maanen, Hoa Pham, and Adam Aitken.
Photo essay by Tony Davis.