Misunderstanding Asia: International Relations Theory And Asian Studies Over Half A Century (international Relations And Comparisons In Northeast Asia)

In this volume, experts on East Asia focus on each of the past five decades to explain the weak predictive power of traditional IR theory as applied to the region and uncover the true forces driving change. International relations theory has repeatedly failed to grasp dramatic changes occurring in East Asia. Asia has long remained peripheral, approached deductively based on findings drawn from the Euro-Atlantic region rather than through the prism of area experts and debates within the region. In this volume, experts on East Asia focus on each of the past five decades to explain the weak predictive power of traditional IR theory as applied to the region and uncover the true forces driving change. While recognizing that realist and liberal theories have vied for preeminence in recent decades, this book showcases the rise of constructivist (national identity) theory. Gilbert Rozman's chapters on each decade cover theoretical issues including strategic triangles, rising powers, regionalism, and Eastern vs. Western civilization. Contributors also examine other triangles, bilateral relations, and views of theory within the region. Parallel chapters explore historical legacies of growing relevance in China, Japan, and Russia in the 2010s, and the Korean Peninsula figures heavily throughout as a challenge to theory Front Matter....Pages i-vii Introduction....Pages 1-22 Front Matter....Pages 23-23 The 1970s: Asia’s Emergence in IR Theory....Pages 25-45 Sino-Soviet Relations in the 1970s and IR Theory....Pages 47-65 Front Matter....Pages 67-67 The 1980s: Asia’s Upheavals and IR Theory....Pages 69-83 The 1980s–1990s: Seen through IR Theory in China and Russia....Pages 85-103 Front Matter....Pages 105-105 The 1990s: Asia’s Transformation and IR Theory....Pages 107-124 IR Theory and Asia Studies: The 1990s....Pages 125-139 Front Matter....Pages 141-141 The 2000s: China’s Rise, Responses to It, and IR Theory....Pages 143-161 IR Theory and Bilateral Relations among China, Japan, and South Korea in the 2000s....Pages 163-187 Front Matter....Pages 189-189 The 2010s: Asia’s Slide toward Conflict and IR Theory....Pages 191-212 The Legacy of Historical Revisionism in Japan in the 2010s....Pages 213-225 The Legacy of Historical Memory and China’s Foreign Policy in the 2010s....Pages 227-239 The Legacy of the 1980s for Russia’s Relations in Northeast Asia in the 2010s....Pages 241-255 The Legacy of Communism and IR in East Asia in the 2010s....Pages 257-269 Back Matter....Pages 271-284 "International relations theory has repeatedly failed to grasp dramatic changes occurring in East Asia. Asia has long remained peripheral, approached deductively based on findings drawn from the Euro-Atlantic region rather than through the prism of area experts and debates within the region. In this volume, experts on East Asia focus on each of the past five decades to explain the weak predictive power of traditional IR theory as applied to the region and uncover the true forces driving change. While recognizing that realist and liberal theories have vied for preeminence in recent decades, this book showcases the rise of constructivist (national identity) theory. Gilbert Rozman's chapters on each decade cover theoretical issues including strategic triangles, rising powers, regionalism, and Eastern vs. Western civilization. Contributors also examine other triangles, bilateral relations, and views of theory within the region. Parallel chapters explore historical legacies of growing relevance in China, Japan, and Russia in the 2010s, and the Korean Peninsula figures heavily throughout as a challenge to theory"-- Provided by publisher