Thus it happens that during an economic bust, like the one in 1990, bookstore shelves sag with gloomy titles, such as The Age of Diminished Expectations, Econoquake and The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers.

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But one answer can be glimpsed from a contemporary study, The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers, by Yale historian Paul Kennedy.

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The eminent historian Paul Kennedy wrote a book entitled The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers in which he argued that powerful countries typically undercut their economic strength by trying to control too much territory, leading to their decline.

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Promoting regional adherence to established rules whether governing commerce, law, diplomatic conduct or navigation at sea is the best way for Asia's smaller states to protect their interests and autonomy in an era that will be defined by the simultaneous rise of China and India as great powers.

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