An unintended outcome of the turbulent post-Cold War 'new world order' has been the gradual shift in focus of world affairs to the East. In the early 90s people asked how far Western norms would spread, while today, the debate is about how far Asian ideas will reach. This book examines these propositions by discussing the changes and continuities in the Westphalian framework of global life, and considers whether these transformations suggest the emergence of a nascent Eastphalian world order.
In IR, the term 'Eastphalia' is now associated with the qualitative shift toward post-Western thinking. This book's reference to Eastphalia aims to challenge the juxtapositions of temporal and geographical difference that are still binding the language and vision of IR. The Eastphalian lens helps outline the contested terrain of post-Western IR as a space for dialogical learning, which promises a world that is international, equitable, less hegemonic, and more democratic. This volume reflects on these developments by offering a meaningful encounter with some of the frameworks, concepts, and perspectives of such Eastphalian IR.
This collection opens conceptual and discursive spaces in IR, both epistemologically and ontologically. The critical engagement of the contributions is guided by the following queries: Is the current shape of world affairs qualitatively new enough to demand a paradigm shift in the analysis of IR? Does the current language of IR require new terms and concepts for depicting the complexity and turbulence of global life? Is the Westphalian narrative of IR merely being supplanted by an Eastphalian one? By illuminating the complexity of these issues, this book outlines new politics of critique, thinking, and knowledge capable of imagining global life other than what it currently is.
This book will interest students and scholars of IR, Asian Studies and international affairs.
About the Author: Emilian Kavalski is Associate Professor of Global Studies at the Institute for Social Justice, Australian Catholic University (Sydney). He is series editor of the book series Rethinking Asia and International Relations. Previous publications include: World Politics at the Edge of Chaos (edited, 2015), Encounters with World Affairs (edited, 2015), Central Asia and the Rise of Normative Powers (2012), The Ashgate Research Companion on Chinese Foreign Policy (2012) and India and Central Asia (2010).
