The Pacific Asia region covers vast areas of the Russian Far East and East, Southeast Asia, Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific island nations. It is a region of tremendous diversity in physical geography, culture, economy, development and politics. Since the 1970s, the region has experienced rapid socioeconomic development. With globalization and the emergence of the Chinese economy, in particular, Pacific Asia has become a powerful economic and political “engine” at the global scale. The course takes a holistic perspective on the past and present of these transformations.