Western Political Thought in Dialogue with Asia (Global Encounters: Studies in Comparative Political Theory)

Western Political Thought in Dialogue with Asia is a unique collection of essays that examines the exchange of political ideas between Western Europe and Asia from the Middle Ages to the early twentieth century. The contributors to the volume call for globalizing the scope of research and teaching in the history of political thought. Comparative political theory : what is it good for? / Fred Dallmayr Toward a global history of political thought / Antony Black Varieties of dialogue : dialogical models of intercultural communication in medieval inter-religious writings / Cary J. Nederman Asia and the moral geography of European enlightenment political thought c. 1600-1800 / Bruce Buchan The ebb and flow of peoples, ideas and innovations in the river of inter-civilizational relations : toward a global history of political thought / Brett Owden Viewing Islam through enlightenment eyes / Vicki A. Spencer Dealing with inequality : a conversation with Islamic economics / Philip Nel Islamic responses to Europe at the dawn of colonialism / Nelly Lahoud From political thought in India to Indian political thought / Anthony Parel Indian alternations : Aurobindo, Ambedkar and after / Makarand Paranjape Chinese conceptions of the state during the late Qing Dynasty (1860-1911) / Peter Zarrow Is there a Confucian perspective on social justice? / Joseph Chan Imagining the body politic : metaphor and political language in late medieval Europe and Tokugawa Japan / Takashi Shogimen Meiji intelligentsia's riposte / Alistair Swale. Given the rise of globalization and coinciding increase in cultural clashes among diverse nations, it has become eminently clear to scholars of political thought that there exists a critical gap in the knowledge of non-Western philosophies and how Western thought has been influenced by them. This gap has led to a severely diminished capacity of both state and nonstate actors to communicate effectively on a global scale. The political theorists, area scholars, and intellectual historians gathered here by Takashi Shogimen and Cary J. Nederman examine the exchange of political ideas between Europe and Asia from the Middle Ages to the early twentieth century. They establish the need for comparative political thought, showing that in order to fully grasp the origins and achievements of the West, historians of political thought must incorporate Asian political discourse and ideas into their understanding. By engaging in comparative studies, this volume proves the necessity of a cross-disciplinary approach in guiding the study of the global history of political thought. "Given the rise of globalization and coinciding increase in cultural clashes among diverse nations, it has become eminently clear to scholars of political thought that there exists a critical gap in the knowledge of non-Western philosophies and how Western thought has been influenced by them. This gap has led to a severely diminished capacity of both state and nonstate actors to communicate effectively on a global scale. The political theorists, area scholars, and intellectual historians gathered here by Takashi Shogimen and Cary J. Nederman examine the exchange of political ideas between Europe and Asia from the Middle Ages to the early twentieth century"--Back cover