RSIS Book Launch Seminar by Professor He Baogang, Head, Public Policy and Global Affairs, College of Humanities, Arts, & Social Sciences; and Alfred Deakin Professor and Chair in International Relations (Deakin University)
In Search of a People-Centric Order in Asia
Abstract of “In Search of a People-Centric Order in Asia”:
The order of international relations in Asia is predominantly state-centric. It is one based primarily on absolute national sovereignty, exclusive national identity and patriotic national citizenship. This sovereignty-based or state-centered order, however, has been challenged and progressively undermined by a people-centric order that is governed by ideals of global citizenship and principles of global justice. In this people-centric order, the emergence of a new form of politics in which citizens are empowered by various non-governmental organizations that serve to define and influence world politics is envisaged. Clearly, such an order clashes with the prevailing Asian national sovereignty-based model. This book provides a systematic descriptive, explanatory and normative analysis of the clash of normative orders in Asia, and develops an analysis of Asian responses to the challenge posed by a more diffuse people-centric order and the implications this may have for global justice. The book aims to study two paradigms of political order — a national statist sovereignty-based order and a people-centric order, analyze the conflict between two diverse political paradigms within an Asian setting, and assess the various challenges a people-centric order poses for a sovereignty-based order. It also aims to address the paucity of Asian normative thinking through a synthesis of intellectual sources and normative theories. It applies, tests, revises and develops Western normative theories of the people-centric order.
Abstract of “In Contested Ideas of Regionalism in Asia”:
This book examines contested ideas of regionalism in Asia with a particular focus on two competing ideas of pan-Asianism and Pacificism. It also identifies a new trend and contestation, the fundamental shift from a civilization understanding of regionalism to a technocratic and functional understanding of regionalism in the form of regulatory regionalism.
About the Speaker:
Professor Baogang He is the head of Public Policy and Global Affairs program at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, and tenured Professor and Chair of International Studies program since 2005, at Deakin University, Australia. Graduated with a PhD in Political Science from Australian National University in 1994, Professor He has become widely known for his work in Chinese democratization and politics, in particular the deliberative politics in China. Professor He has published 4 single-authored books, 63 international refereed journal articles resulting in total Google citation count of 2,410 (as of 15 June 2015) and Hirsch index of 27. His publications are found in top journals including British Journal of Political Science, Journal of Peace Research, Political Theory, and Perspectives on Politics. In addition, he has published 3 books, 15 book chapters and 63 journal papers in Chinese. Professor He has also held several honorary appointments and research fellowships at renowned universities including Stanford University, University of Cambridge, Columbia University, Leiden and Sussex University.
