WHAT IS THE PACIFIC RIM?<br > The term Pacific Rim， as used in this book， refers to 2G<br > countries or administrative units along or near the Asian side<br > of the Pacific Ocean， plus the numerous islands of the Pacific.<br > Together， they are home to approximately 30 percent of the<br > world s population and produce about 20 percent of the<br > world s gross national product (GNP).<br > It is not a simple matter to decide which countries to<br > include in a definition of the Pacific Rim. For instance， if we<br > were thinking geographically， we might include Mexico，<br > Chile， Canada， the United States， Russia， and numerous other<br > countries that border the Pacific Ocean， while eliminating<br > Myanmar (Burma) and Laos， since they are not technically on<br > the rim of the Pacific. But our definition， and hence our<br > selected inclusions， stem from fairly recent developments in<br > economic and geopolitical power that have affected the coun-<br > tries of Asia and the Pacific in such a way that these formerly<br >disparate regions are now being referred to by international<br >corporate and political leaders as a single bloc.<br > Most people living in the region that we have thus defined<br >do not think of themselves as "Pacific Rimmers." In addition，<br >many social scientists， particularly cultural anthropologists<br >and comparative sociologists， would prefer not to apply a<br >single term to such a culturally， politically， and sociologically<br >diverse region. It is true that many of the countries in question<br >share certain cultural influences， such as Buddhism and rice<br >cultivation. But these commonalities have not prevented the<br >region from fracturing into dozens of societies， often very<br >antagonistic toward one anothen<br >