Book
The Global Politics of Confucianism
The Global Politics of Confucianism, a monograph contracted with Columbia University Press, analyzes the interaction between Confucianism and globalism in past and present, using history to critically engage Confucianism’s place in contemporary international relations and policy debates.
- Author
- Kiri Paramore
- Date
- 15 August 2018
The Global Politics of Confucianism, a monograph contracted with Columbia University Press, analyzes the interaction between Confucianism and globalism in past and present, using history to critically engage Confucianism’s place in contemporary international relations and policy debates. It challenges traditional associations of Confucianism with “Chinese culture”, pointing out its culturally neutral image during most of pre-modern Asian history, as well as the extent of Japanese domination of Confucianism during the early twentieth century, particularly during the Second World War.
The book proceeds chronologically from the rise of Confucianism as the dominant mediator of East Asian globalism in the late medieval and early modern periods, through its employment by Western imperial powers during the subjugation of East Asia in the nineteenth century, to its role in anti-colonial nationalist movements, and its later resurrection as part of the discourse of anti-communism in WWII and the Cold War.
The Global Politics of Confucianism thus problematizes the typical Sinocentric narrative, instead presenting an array of different Confucianisms which arose in different periods and regions around the world. This multicultural rendition of Confucian history is based in close analysis of a wide array of (often non-Chinese) Asian examples, but also important European engagements with Confucianism during the early modern period, as well as the intriguing story of U.S. political employments of Confucianism during the Cold War.
The Global Politics of Confucianism presents a culturally and politically dynamic global Confucian history capable of casting new light on current debates in policy and academia which see Confucianism as a potential alternative cultural methodology for ordering politics and international relations in today’s world.