The logic of security is driving the international relations of Northeast Asia, to the extent that security and zero-sum thinking has started pervading the techno-economic realm. Area Studies expertise premised on deep historical, cultural and linguistic knowledge is ever-more important to navigate the stormy waters of a region so important to global peace and prosperity, and yet so prey of ideological and political biases. After all, the politics of Northeast Asia have been relatively under-studied from an emic perspective in continental Europe. Join us, then, for four book presentations by five country experts. Firstly, Lionel Fatton will provide an IR-informed analysis of Japan’s imperial aggrandizement. His book combines Neoclassical realism and the literature on civil-military relations to investigate the phenomenon of overbalancing, thereby explaining Japan’s rush to the Pacific War. In doing so, it addresses flaws in the literature on Japan’s interwar behaviour and contributes to Global International Relations. The theoretical framework also helps comprehend inertia and rupture in security policy, providing insights on current international dynamics.
Secondly, Stefano Pelaggi reconstructs the historical path of Taiwan through the complex identity mosaic of its population. The book describes how historical events on the island have determined the creation of a Taiwanese national identity, which today constitutes an insurmountable obstacle to a possible process of unforced inclusion within the People's Republic of China.
Thirdly, and in connection to the above, Francesca Congiu and Barbara Onnis will focus on the historical origins of the Taiwan question and on the political dynamics behind cross-Strait relations. Specific attention is paid to the question of international recognition and the diplomatic battle between Beijing and Taipei behind it.
Lastly Antoine Roth analyses China’s efforts to realize its vision for international order in Asia and discusses how the legacies of its imperial past and traditional political philosophy has continued to inform its foreign policy throughout the 20th and early 21st century. It argues that China sees a hierarchy that attributes different roles to ‘small’ and ‘big’ states as the only viable path to order and employs a moralist discourse and a proactive diplomacy to justify and affirm its claim to superiority over its neighbours.
Throughout the book presentations, authors will also present Japan-China-Taiwan relations through the prism of historical events that shaped the polities’ respective identity and foreign policy outlook.
Books presented:
Francesca Congiu and Barbara Onnis, Fino all'ultimo Stato. La battaglia diplomatica tra Cina e Taiwan, Roma: Carocci, 2023.
Lionel Fatton, Japan's Rush to the Pacific War: The Institutional Roots of Overbalancing, London: Palgrave MacMillan, 2023.
Stefano Pelaggi, L’isola sospesa: Taiwan e gli equilibri del mondo, Rome: LUISS University Press, 2022.
Antoine Roth, A Hierarchical Vision of Order: Understanding Chinese Foreign Policy in Asia, Bristol: Bristol University Press, 2023.