This pathbreaking, multidisciplinary work challenges our unthinking acceptance of such terms as 'Asia Pacific' and 'Pacific Rim.' Revealing the hidden power relationships and hegemonic struggles that are disguised by ideological constructions of the region, the contributors uncover fundamental contradictions that underlie the much-celebrated economic boom. The book shifts our focus from abstract relationships between capital and commodities to the human interactions that the contributors agree constitute the region, rather than any physical boundaries. This revised and updated edition brings in additional essays focusing on conceptualizations of the Pacific, considers more fully interactions among countries, and strongly emphasizes peoples inhabiting the region, who are so often overlooked in most discussions of the 'Rim.'