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State, Society and International Relations in Asia brings together a series of research papers on how state and societal actors in selected Asian countries cope with external and domestic pressures to close the productivity - wealth - power gap with the high-income countries of the OECD. The above world average rate of economic expansion of these countries, in combination with their demographic base, is changing the global context of foreign policy action for the United States, as former cold-war hegemon, and the European Union. The general objective of the work is to contribute to a better understanding of how local forces respond to the challenges of catch-up development, on the domestic, regional and global levels. The general objective has been pursued in a series of case studies of Asian countries with different historical legacies, domestic institutions and foreign policy orientations. Despite their differences and current conflicts, they share the objective of catch-up development, through industrialization and urbanization. That objective being shared does not imply convergence of policies and institutions. However, all share the humiliating experience of being dominated by countries that industrialized first, stepped on land uninvited, inflicting huge damage on state and society in the Asian region.