Asian Diplomacy

Based on over 160 interviews, Asian Diplomacy evaluates the ministries of foreign affairs in five major Asian countries. For each country, Kishan S. Rana first sketches the historical and political background of its diplomatic service. He reviews the structural features of the service; its responsibilities in such key areas as economic and political relations; and its methods for intragovernmental relations, decision making, and crisis management. He then provides a summary assessment of each service and concludes by asking what is special about Asian diplomacy. Asian diplomatic services will become central to international relations as globalization spreads and the influence of Asian countries continues to grow. Rana’s pioneering comparative examination provides a sound basis for understanding this new diplomatic environment.

This book provides a comprehensive analysis of Japan’s Asian diplomacy under Prime Minister Shinzō Abe. Under the Kantei-centred policymaking system, Shinzō Abe has implemented assertive foreign policies with a slogan of ‘diplomacy taking a panoramic perspective of the world’. The analyses in the book cover the traditional and emerging fields of national security and international political economy. While its empirical examination is based on field-specific research, it also incorporates the analysis of Japan’s bilateral relations with China, the US, India, and others. In addition, the book provides a solid, theory-driven analysis of Japan’s external policy and relations. In an independent chapter, this work sets up integrative theoretical frameworks for empirical analyses by relying on key concepts drawn from the three international relations theories of realism, liberalism and constructivism. Going forward, research in this book also explores the development of key regional affairs. Maritime security and space security are two of major security-related affairs, in which the states in East Asia and the Asia-Pacific have to engage, including the development of the TPP (TPP-11) and RCEP, as well as infrastructure development and development cooperation, which are crucial in relation to China’s initiatives in the BRI and AIIB. Lastly, the book provides valuable references to regionalism in East Asia and the Asia-Pacific by analyzing regional integration/cooperation through free trade agreements and the development of regional connectivity. This includes the evolution of cooperation and conflict within key regional frameworks such as the East Asia Summit and APEC, as well as key regional visions such as the Free and Open Indo-Pacific. It also takes into account the possible influence of ideational factors such as norms, principles, and rules on the development of regional cooperation.

For centuries, China was confident in its role as the 'Middle Kingdom', the undisputed cultural, economic and political powerhouse of Asia. Today, with China once again a leading player on the world stage, countries across the continent are facing an uncertain future. Does China's rise threaten its neighbours? And what, ultimately, is its end goal? Nowhere are these questions more pressing than in the Pacific, where China's maritime neighbours find themselves directly in the path of the country's expanding territorial claims. In this rich historical exploration, Michael Tai finds answers to these and other questions through an in-depth exploration of China's past. Spanning thousands of years of Chinese and Asian history, China and Her Neighbours looks at China's evolving relations with Japan, Vietnam, the Philippines, and Malaysia. While the disputes in the Pacific have attracted widespread attention, very few investigations have considered the wider historical context of these tensions.

She held few government posts, yet she was a strong influence on the course of U.S.-Asian relations in the last half of the twentieth century. The Chinese-born wife of General Claire Chennault of World War II Flying Tigers fame, Anna Chennault was a leader in America's informal relations with East Asia from 1950 to 1990. Professor Catherine Forslund's new book, Anna Chennault: Informal Diplomacy and Asian Relations examines Chennault's unique, multifaceted career as an exemplar of American informal diplomacy during the post-World War II era. A fascinating look at a woman before her time, this new book is an informative and engaging account of the complex nature of U.S.-Asian relations, diplomatic processes, and the role of women in foreign affairs.

Set against the backdrop of tensions in East Asia, this book analyzes how East Asia's "new middle powers" and emerging powers employ public diplomacy as a key element of their foreign policy strategy and in so doing influence regional power dynamics. The volume brings together contributions from an international and influential group of scholars, who are leading debates on public diplomacy within East Asia. Where the study of public diplomacy has so far focused primarily on the West, the essays in this book highlight the distinct strategies of East Asian powers and demonstrate that understanding public diplomacy requires studying its strategies and practices outside as much as within the Western world. A focus on public diplomacy likewise gives us a more varied picture of state-to-state relations in East Asia.

These two books offer readers a fresh perspective to re-examine and revaluate the so-called “China Threat” and the non-Western way of conducting foreign relations exercised by Asian countries due to the lasting impact of their traditional cultures on their diplomacy. 此書著為讀者提供全新視角來重新檢驗和評估所謂的”中國威脅論”和亞洲國家之非西方式外交及其傳統文化外交之影響.

Asia has emerged as the centre of international conflict and change in the post-war era. In Europe the post-cold war approach is to adjust East-West power relationships without disturbing the territorial status quo, and to conduct foreign policy according to classical European principles of compromise and compensation. Asians are newcomers in world affairs. Asian diplomatic traditions differ from European ones, and there are many border disputes and power rivalries. The idea of 'Asia' was created by Europeans for Europeans and it led to Western dominance of Asia. From colonial subjects, Asians have become important players in military, economic and diplomatic affairs. To understand the Asian dimension of contemporary world affairs we need to take a fresh look at Asian diplomatic ideas and practices. This volume brings together recognised experts to explain the imperatives and external policies of different types of Asian states.