Description: Neither war nor preparations for war were the cause or effect of state formation in East Asia. Instead, emulation of China--the hegemon with a civilizational influence--drove the rapid formation of centralized, bureaucratically administered, territorial governments in Korea, Japan, and Vietnam. Furthermore, these countries engaged in state-building not to engage in conflict or to suppress revolt. In fact, war was relatively rare and there was no balance of power system with regular existential threats--the longevity of the East Asian dynasties is evidence of both the peacefulness of their neighborhood and their internal stability. We challenge the assumption that the European experience with war and state-making was universal. More importantly, we broaden the scope of state formation in East Asia beyond the study of China itself and show how countries in the region interacted and learned from each other and China to develop strong capacities and stable borders.
Brief description: Chin-Hao Huang is assistant professor of political science and head of studies for global affairs at Yale-NUS College in Singapore. His research and teaching focus on China's foreign relations, the international relations of East Asia, and international security. His books include Power, Restraint, and China's Rise (2022) and Identity in the Shadow of a Giant: How the Rise of China is Changing Taiwan (2021).
Review Quotes: 'International Relations needs to move beyond critiques of Eurocentrism to present big, positive alternative ideas. Few if any books in the field achieve this goal as well as State Formation in Historical East Asia. Huang and Kang's fresh, challenging and incredibly important thesis is that state-building in East Asia preceded that in Europe, and was the result of emulation rather than military competition.' Jason Sharman, Sir Patrick Sheehy Professor of International Relations, University of Cambridge