The Rise & Decline of the Asian Century: False Starts on the Path to the Global Millennium. A number of confluent events has given rise to the notion of an impending "Asian Century", whereby the Asia-Pacific region is portrayed as supplanting America as the centre of gravity for world affairs. This manifest destiny is based principally on the expectation that high growth rates registered by the Asian "tiger" economies will continue and eventually spread to other countries in the region. In this book, Christopher Lingle challenges this view. He argues that this concept is the brainchild of a diverse set of observers, some of whom are motivated by their vested interests in having the prophecy come true. Others, he contends, are simply uninformed. He points out that many of the institutions credited with the "miracle" performances of East Asian economies cannot withstand close scrutiny. Their short-term virtue can be shown to be long-term vice, harming the region's prospects for sustainable economic and social progress.