Misunderstanding Asia: International Relations Theory and Asian Studies Over Half a Century(International Relations and Comparisons in Northeast Asia)

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.

Table of Contents:
Contents List of Tables Acknowledgements Introduction Gilbert Rozman PART I: THE 1970s 1. The 1970s: Asia's Emergence in IR Theory; Gilbert Rozman 2. Sergey Radchenko, The 1970s: Sino-Soviet Relations and IR Theory PART II: THE 1980s 3. The 1980s: Asia's Upheavals and IR Theory; Gilbert Rozman 4. The 1980s-90s: Seen through IR Theory in China and Russia; Gilbert Rozman PART III: THE 1990s 5. The 1990s: Asia's Transformation and IR Theory; Gilbert Rozman 6. IR Theory and Asia Studies: the 1990s; Kazuhiko Togo PART IV: THE 2000s 7. The 2000s: China's Rise, Responses to It, and IR Theory; Gilbert Rozman 8. IR Theory and Bilateral Relations among China, Japan, and South Korea in the 2000s; Yinan He PART V: THE 2010s 9. The 2010s: Asia's Slide toward Conflict and IR Theory; Gilbert Rozman 10. The Legacy of Historical Revisionism; Koichi Nakano 11. Bad Memories, Good Dream: The Legacy of Historical Memory and China's Foreign Policy; Zheng Wang 12. The Legacy of the 1980s for Russia's Relations in Northeast Asia in the 2010s; Sergey Radchenko 13. The Legacy of Communism and International Relations in East Asia in the 2010s; Gilbert Rozman

About the Author :
Gilbert Rozman taught at Princeton University from 1970 to 2013. He now serves as the editor of The Asan Forum, an online journal on the international relations of the Asia-Pacific region. His writings bridge sociology, history, and political science, concentrating on the states of Northeast Asia.