IR Theory and Practice in Asia
About the Book Series
This series will publish philosophical, theoretical, methodological and empirical work by prominent scholars, as well as that of emerging scholars, concerned with IR theory and practice in the context of Asia. It will engage with a wide range of issues and questions ranging from meta-theoretical underpinnings of existing Western-oriented IR theories to ways of theorising Asian histories and cultures.
What are we looking for?
While we are open to any exciting ideas for edited, single or co-authored work, we are currently inviting book proposals which intend to address the following areas:
- Global IR
- Critical test and application of IR theory in Asian contexts
- IR scholarship in Asia
- Asian international politics
- Critical pedagogy of international studies
- Sociology of IR scholarship
- Asian theory of international relations (Chinese IR; Japanese IR; Korean IR; and IR in ASEAN)
- Multiple (or competing) discourses about non-Western IR theory
- Asian histories of international relations
- Theoretical pluralism and fragmentation in IR
- Dialogues and engagement in a pluralist IR
More specifically, the questions the series is interested in include (but are not limited to) the following:
- What are the implications of the rise of Asia, and especially China, for IR as a discipline?
- Through what mechanisms has Western IR theory dominated the discipline?
- Why has IR, as a discipline, developed the way it has?
- What are the distinctive features and teaching practices in Asian IR communities?
- To what extent is Western IR theory useful in comprehending Asian international politics?
- Do developments in contemporary Asia require new theoretical and methodological innovations?
- Is the development of an Asian theory of IR desirable? If so, how might it be achieved?
- Will efforts to develop Asian IR theory or schools lead IR to becoming a fragmented field of study?
If you have an idea for a new book in IR Theory and Practice in Asia, please send a written proposal to the Series Editors:
Yong-Soo Eun, Editor-in-Chief, [email protected]
Shaun Breslin, Editor, [email protected]
Kosuke Shimizu, Editor, [email protected]
Ja Ian Chong, Editor, [email protected]
Editorial Board Members:
Peter J. Katzenstein, Cornell University, USA
T.V. Paul, McGill University, Canada
Tim Dunne, University of Queensland, Australia
Colin Wight, University of Sydney, Australia
Shaun Breslin, University of Warwick, UK
Takashi Inoguchi, University of Niigata Prefecture, Japan
Timothy M. Shaw, University of Massachusetts Boston, USA
Ian Hall, Griffith University, Australia
Wookhee Shin, Seoul National University
Chris Hughes, University of Warwick, UK
Mark Beeson, University of Western Australia
Yongjin Zhang, Bristol University, UK
Cheng-Chwee Kuik, National University of Malaysia
Inanna Hamati-Ataya, University of Cambridge, UK
Ching Chang Chen, Ryukoku University, Japan
Emilian Kavalski, The University of Nottingham Ningbo China
Pinar Bilgin, Bilkent University, Turkey
Qin Yaqing, China Foreign Affairs University, China
Chanintira na Thalang, Thammasat University, Thailand
Pluralising the Meaning of China in Global International Relations: Ontology, Practice, and Ideology in China–Chile Relations
1st Edition
By Claudio Coloma
May 21, 2026
Coloma examines the bilateral relationship between China and Chile over the past decades and explore an approach that accounts for the plurality of political and ideological dimensions in international relations, particularly concerning non-Western and non-European countries. The book develops ...
Globalizing IR Theory: Critical Engagement
1st Edition
Edited
By Yaqing Qin
June 13, 2022
Despite attempts to redress the balance, international relations (IR) as a discipline is still dominated by Western theories. The contributors in this book explore the challenges of constructing an alternative, with a dialogue between global and local approaches. Drawing on scholars with ...
Ontological Security and Status-Seeking: Thailand’s Proactive Behaviours during the Second World War
1st Edition
By Peera Charoenvattananukul
June 13, 2022
How and why was it possible for a small state such as Thailand to challenge great powers France and Japan during the Second World War?Putting ontological security theory into dialogue with status seeking approaches, Charoenvattananukul uses a case study of Thailand in the early 1940s to interrogate...
Going beyond Parochialism and Fragmentation in the Study of International Relations
1st Edition
Edited
By Yong-Soo Eun
September 30, 2021
International Relations (IR), as a discipline, is a western dominated enterprise. This has led to calls to broaden the scope and vision of the discipline by embracing a wider range of histories, experiences, and theoretical perspectives – particularly those outside the Anglo-American core of the ...
Critical International Relations Theories in East Asia: Relationality, Subjectivity, and Pragmatism
1st Edition
Edited
By Kosuke Shimizu
September 30, 2020
What do we study when we study International Relations (IR)? This book interrogates the meanings of the established ontology and subjectivity embedded in the discourse of "Western" and "non-Western" IR. We are predisposed to see a nation-state as a unified entity, everlasting and moving towards a ...
Rethinking Middle Powers in the Asian Century: New Theories, New Cases
1st Edition
Edited
By Tanguy Struye de Swielande, Dorothée Vandamme, David Walton, Thomas Wilkins
June 30, 2020
The term "middle power" is conceptually fragile. Some scholars have even argued for abandoning it. This book argues that the concept needs to be analysed more profoundly and that new analytical tools need to be developed to better understand the phenomenon. The traditional approach, based on ...
International Relations as a Discipline in Thailand: Theory and Sub-fields
1st Edition
Edited
By Chanintira na Thalang, Soravis Jayanama, Jittipat Poonkham
May 07, 2020
There has long been considerable debate about the nature of non-Western IR theory. Most attempts to understand such a phenomenon begin by taking a top-down approach on a country by country basis. Instead, this book takes a bottom-up approach, involving specialists from a range of Thai universities,...
What Is at Stake in Building “Non-Western” International Relations Theory?
1st Edition
By Yong-Soo Eun
October 10, 2019
International Relations (IR) as a discipline is often deemed to be “too Western” centric. It has been argued that much of mainstream IR theory is “simply an abstraction of Western history.” In this respect, many IR scholars have called for “broadening” the theoretical horizon of IR while ...
Contested Ideas of Regionalism in Asia
1st Edition
By Baogang He
May 11, 2018
Deepening regionalism in Asia demands new leadership. Strong elites who are committed to a supranational identity are a minimum requirement of successful regionalism. Regional leaders are increasingly seen as a new set of leaders in Europe. Currently, Asian regional leaders largely come from the ...