As domestic realities shifted, national interests shifted as well, both within Asia and between Asian countries and the rest of the world. Second, and perhaps more important, was the dog that didn't bark. According to globalist theory, the integration of world financial markets meant that a major downturn in any one market would inevitably have substantial effects on all markets. That simply didn't happen. Asia collapsed in 1997.
American markets continue to move to new heights, as do many European markets.
The Asian collapse challenged globalist theory while at the same time resurrecting Asian nationalism. Indeed, that nationalism has been on the rise throughout the world. We do not mean, by nationalism, the extreme manifestations we see in the Balkans or among some Russians. We mean by nationalism something much simpler and more profound. First, we mean the resurrection of the idea that there is a shared fate within nations, and that being an Egyptian or Japanese or American is a profoundly important, defining component of someone's personality which, in turn, defines a shared interest and fate among compatriots.