ABSTRACT
Constructing a region is not an easy task. Consider a potential region containing states with vastly different levels of development, with different versions of domestic capitalism, different domestic political structures, different religions and belief systems: a region that has suffered from the expansionary military activities of one of its members and where memories of the war are still strong in the minds of many, with concerns about how to prevent the emergence of regional hegemons; a region where nations are divided with rival political regimes in an uneasy peace where the threat of conflict cannot be discounted; a region that is largely dependent on the presence of an external power, the United States, for the maintenance of security and largely dependent on that same external power for its economic fortunes; a region where there is little or no identification with belonging to that region amongst the general population.
