Asia-Pacific

Asia-Pacific or Asia Pacific (abbreviated as Asia-Pac, AsPac, APAC, APJ, JAPA or JAPAC) is the part of the world in or near the Western Pacific Ocean. The region varies in size depending on which context, but it typically includes much of East Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia, and Oceania.

The term may also include Russia (on the North Pacific) and countries in the Americas which are on the coast of the Eastern Pacific Ocean; the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, for example, includes Canada, Chile, Russia, Mexico, Peru, and the United States.

Alternatively, the term sometimes comprises all of Asia and Australasia as well as small/medium/large Pacific island nations (Asia Pacific and Australasian Continent) - for example when dividing the world into large regions for commercial purposes (e.g. into Americas, EMEA and Asia Pacific).

On the whole there appears to be no clear cut definition of "Asia Pacific" and the regions included change as per the context.

Though imprecise, the term has become popular since the late 1980s in commerce, finance and politics. In fact, despite the heterogeneity of the regions' economies, most individual nations within the zone are emerging markets experiencing rapid growth. (Compare the concept/acronym APEJ or APeJ - Asia-Pacific excluding Japan.)

Pacific Council on International Policy

The Pacific Council on International Policy is a non-partisan membership-based organization focused on foreign policy. Founded in 1995 in partnership with the Council on Foreign Relations, the Pacific Council is a 501c(3) non-profit organization. It is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. Its activities include speaking events, policy-focused task forces, and international fact-finding missions.

Organization

The mission of the Pacific Council is to address global issues “by giving more effective voice to West Coast perspectives on them.” To that end, the Council convenes speaking events, conference calls, international trips, based throughout the West Coast of the United States.

The Council organizes an annual Members Weekend conference in Santa Monica, CA, which convenes “business, government, civic, and academic leaders from around the world to analyze and debate the most important global policy issues.” Since 2010, it has also hosted an annual Spring Conference.

Atlantic Council

The Atlantic Council is a think tank in the field of international affairs. Founded in 1961, the Council provides a forum for international political, business, and intellectual leaders. It manages ten regional centers and functional programs related to international security and global economic prosperity. It is headquartered in Washington, D.C.

History

The Atlantic Council was founded with a mission to encourage the continuation of cooperation between North America and Europe that began after World War II. In its early years its work consisted largely of publishing policy papers and polling Europeans and Americans about their attitudes towards transatlantic and international cooperation. In these early years its primary focus was on economic issues—mainly encouraging free trade between the two continents, and to a lesser extent to the rest of the world—but it also did some work on political and environmental issues.

Although the Atlantic Council did publish policy papers and monographs, Melvin Small of Wayne State University wrote that, especially in its early years, the Council's real strength lies in its connections to influential policy makers. The Council early on found a niche as "center for informal get-togethers" of leaders from both sides of the Atlantic, with members working to develop "networks of continuing communication".

Brent Scowcroft

Brent Scowcroft KBE (/ˈskoʊkrɒft/; born March 19, 1925) is a retired United States Air Force Lieutenant General. He was the United States National Security Advisor under U.S. Presidents Gerald Ford and George H. W. Bush. He also served as Military Assistant to President Richard Nixon and as Deputy Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs in the Nixon and Ford administrations. He served as Chairman of the President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board under President George W. Bush from 2001 to 2005 and assisted President Barack Obama in choosing his national security team.

Early life and education

Scowcroft was born March 19, 1925, in Ogden, Utah, to Lucile Scowcroft (formerly Ballantyne) and James Scowcroft, a grocer and business owner. He is a descendant of early 19th-century British immigrants from England and Scotland, along with immigrants from Denmark and Norway. He considers himself a "religious and cultural heritage" Mormon, if not a formal follower of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church).

Council

A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county level, but most legislative bodies at the state or national level are not considered councils. At such levels, there may be no separate executive branch, and the council may effectively represent the entire government. A board of directors might also be denoted as a council. A committee might also be denoted as a council, though a committee is generally a subordinate body composed of members of a larger body, while a council may not be. Because many schools have a student council, the council is the form of governance with which many people are likely to have their first experience as electors or participants.

A member of a council may be referred to as a councillor, or by the gender-specific titles of councilman and councilwoman.

In politics

Notable examples of types of councils encountered in politics include: