This article provides a critical analysis of the emerging features of Asia's changing strategic landscape and its links to the broader dynamics of world politics. It begins by considering the approaches that the major powers are likely to take and then explores the set of dynamic factors - including the fate of the global economy, nationalism, and strategic shock - whose interaction with the policies of the major powers will determine how Asia's strategic future will unfold. The article concludes that although the region is experiencing considerable change over the coming generation the large tectonic forces shaping the strategic future are already in plain sight. What is less clear is how these forces will interact or how states and peoples will respond to these circumstances.