Getting Asia Wrong: The Need for New Analytical Frameworks

Overview

How successfully has international relations theory captured the post–Cold War Asian experience? David Kang of Dartmouth College argues that Western scholars are “getting Asia wrong.” The region has not witnessed the emergence of arms racing and power politics that many analysts have predicted. In addition, Asian states do not seem to be balancing against a rising China; rather they appear to be bandwagoning. Kang asserts that scholars can no longer rely so overwhelmingly on European history to understand the international politics of Asia in the twenty-first century.