International Relations of the Asia-Pacific Advance Access first published online on August 7, 2007
This version published online on August 28, 2007
International Relations of the Asia-Pacific, doi:10.1093/irap/lcm012
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Why is there no non-Western international relations theory? An introduction
1 Department of Politics, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
2 Department of International Relations, London School of Economics and Political Science, London, UK
In Section 1, we outline the conceptual framework, rationale, and objectives of the Special Issue. Next, we clarify what we mean by ‘international relation theory (IRT)’, which would serve as the basis for organizing the case studies. We then examine several possible explanations of the absence of non-Western IRT, such as the belief that Western IRT has discovered the right path to understanding international relations so as to preclude the need for other voices, the hegemonic status of Western IRT that discourages theoretical formulations by others, the ‘hidden’ nature of IRT in Asia, lack of resources and local conditions that discriminate against the production of IR theory, and the time lag between the West and Asia in developing theoretical writings. This is followed by our suggestions about the possible Asian Sources for IRT, including the writings of classical political, military, and religious figures, thinking, and foreign policy approach of leaders, the work of Asian scholars who have applied Western IRT to local contexts, and finally, generalizations of Asian experiences to develop concepts which can be used more widely.
The originally published version of this article was incorrect. The publisher apologises for this error.