Contesting International Society in East Asia

Bringing together some of the most innovative scholars in both the English School of international relations and East Asian studies, this volume investigates whether or not significant and distinct international social structures exist at the regional level represented by 'East Asia', and what this can tell us about international society both regionally and globally. The book's main finding is that the regional dispute over how its states and peoples should relate to the Western-dominated global international society makes the existence of East Asian international society essentially contested. While this regional-global social dynamic is present in many regions, it is particularly strong in East Asia. This book will appeal to audiences interested in developing English School theory, the study of East Asian international relations and comparative regionalism.

'This book is the most authoritative and thorough application of the English School perspective to the international relations of East Asia and greatly enriches the theoretical study of East Asian international relations.' Amitav Acharya, UNESCO Chair in Transnational Challenges and Governance, American University, Washington, DC and President of the International Studies Association, 'International relations is reinventing itself as global international relations. Contesting International Society in East Asia illustrates that the turn to global international relations is part of the present as well as the future. The editors have brought together influential theorists of the East Asian region to grasp how the region hangs together and also what makes it 'hang together differently'. This book will be warmly received by scholars and practitioners looking for more interpretive depth than is offered by the power shift narrative.' Tim Dunne, Professor and Executive Dean of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, The University of Queensland, 'The editors and authors have produced an exceptionally coherent work and maintained the themes put forth at the start. The book is an illuminating application of the English School to the region and provides another tool to better understand the complexity of a diverse and multifaceted East Asia making an important contribution in both fields.' Terence Roehrig, Perspectives on Politics

Barry Buzan is a Senior Fellow at LSE IDEAS, Emeritus Professor in the London School of Economics Department of International Relations and a Fellow of the British Academy. His books include International Systems in World History: Remaking the Study of International Relations (2000, with Richard Little), Regions and Powers: The Structure of International Security (2003, with Ole Wæver), From International to World Society? English School Theory and the Social Structure of Globalisation (Cambridge, 2004), Does China Matter? (2004, coedited with Rosemary Foot), The United States and the Great Powers: World Politics in the Twenty-First Century (2004), International Society and the Middle East: English School Theory at the Regional Level (2009, coedited with Ana Gonzalez-Pelaez), and Non-Western International Relations Theory (2010, coedited with Amitav Acharya). Yongjin Zhang is Professor of International Politics at the University of Bristol. His main publications include China in the International System, 1918–1920: The Middle Kingdom at the Periphery (1991), China in International Society since 1949: Alienation and Beyond (1998), China's Emerging Global Businesses: Political Economy and Institutional Investigations (2003), Power and Responsibility in Chinese Foreign Policy (2001 and 2014, coedited with Greg Austin), and International Orders in the Early Modern World (2014, coedited with Shogo Suzuki and Joel Quirk). His articles have appeared in the European Journal of International Relations, Review of International Studies, the Australian Journal of International Affairs, the Chinese Journal of International Politics, China Journal, the Journal of Contemporary China, Asian Perspective, Development and Change and, most recently, International Affairs, among others. He is the winner of the BISA (British International Studies Association) prize for the best article published in Review of International Studies in 1991.