The Future of Europe: A Perspective from Asia

This chapter will be a discussion of the future of Europe’s relationship with Asia. This relationship is one that will have profound political, economic and social implications for both continents, as well as for the rest of the world. Moreover, what form it takes will crucially depend on the decisions made by current Asian and European leaders as well as how future leaders interpret history, current trends and future threats. One of the goals of writing this chapter is to highlight the potential opportunities that are available to European and Asian leaders today to acknowledge and put to rest the mistakes of the past, as well as the consequences of their continuing their current relationship, one based on denial, a lack of understanding and intellectual dishonesty. Key to this will be the need for Asian leaders to also shed the vestiges of the past and learn to deal more openly with European leaders.