Regional integration in Asia: Analyzing the influence of the hegemon within the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement and its place in the Indo-Pacific strategy of the USA

The post World War Two period has seen the emergence of regional integration and the deepening of these ties all the way to the culmination of single market entities. In the early period of regional integration, the USA (also the hegemon) had played a key role in the formation of such entities while advancing its interests. While such movements had often been attributed to Europe during this period, the past couple of decades has seen similar initiatives in other continents. In light of the rise of significance of the Asian continent in global geopolitics, the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) initiative to this effect is an interesting yet understudied case. However, would it still be realistic to assert that the USA plays a crucial role as regards the fate of the TPP or its current culmination of the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP)? This study delves into the historical aspect through the method of process tracing and study the role played by the USA and the methods used to shape the interests of the other actors, while also employing various theories such as realism, liberalism and regionalism (old and new) to offer an explanation as to why an attempt towards the creation of a single market entity had been successful or unsuccessful, specifically in the case of the TPP. It also analyzes it within the framework of a much broader aspect in terms of the USA's Indo-Pacific Strategy and its 'pivot to Asia'. The research concludes that the USA does indeed play a key role and steers the development of the TPP, even after its withdrawal while also drawing attention to regional integration initiatives not being independent of global geopolitical developments. It also finds that realist theories do not conflict with the essential notions of theories of regionalism that have emerged in relatively more recent times. This study hopes to hold light to similar studies (especially within the context of the TPP, a topic lacking much previous research), underscoring the extant significance of the USA in regional integration initiatives, in spite of an increasing amount of views that may suggest otherwise.