Vincent K.L. Chang is a university lecturer in the history and global relations of modern China and a senior fellow of the Leiden Asia Centre. He focuses on historical experiences and contemporary approaches to nation building, conflict, diplomacy and law. His main areas of interests include transnational memory politics and historical statecraft (war remembrance, martyrdom construction, memory alliances), region building and contestation in East Asia, China–EU relations, and bilateral ties between China and the Netherlands.

More information about Vincent Chang

My academic interests lie at the intersection of political and diplomatic history, memory studies, and international relations. What connects these interests is the understanding that the present is only the most recent, transitory phase of the past. Studying contemporary China means studying its history and global interactions. In turn, a deeper understanding of ‘global China’ will advance the study of regional and global order.

Drawing on an academic background in law and modern history, I focus on historical and contemporary questions of nation-building, nationalism and identity, and China’s regional and global interactions in times of international conflict and power shifts. I am particularly interested in the formation and contestation of norms and narratives, including those on war and imperialism, morality and law, and governance and diplomacy.

Research

My research spans and connects various scholarly disciplines and genres, moving between questions of Chinese history in the 20^th century, contemporary politics and international relations, and the impact of the past on China’s globalization and its consequences. In recent years, I have developed my research along three main lines:

1. Political and diplomatic history of modern China:

• Imperialism, nation-building, and diplomacy during the late Qing, the Republican era, World War I, World War II, the Chinese Civil War, and the Cold War
• Historical relations between China and the Netherlands (ca. 1850–2000), including Chinese involvement in the Dutch East Indies / Indonesia (1900–1956) and Dutch-Taiwan relations (1950–1980s)

I am currently working on a new book in which I examine how the PRC and Dutch governments invoked, interpreted, and disputed international legal principles and norms during a series of diplomatic incidents from 1950 to 2000. Drawing on hitherto unexplored Chinese and Dutch state archives, including classified records of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, I seek to provide new insights into the historical drivers, dilemmas and frictions of Chinese-Dutch ties and thereby also revive a Leiden Sinological tradition.

2. ‘Global China’ and IR:

• Chinese notions of world order, global governance, and (neighbourhood) diplomacy
• Region building and contestation in East Asia and the Indo-Pacific (China, Japan, South Korea, ASEAN, Australia, US, etc.)
• China–EU and China–Netherlands relations

I am currently researching the shifting dynamics, norms and notions of region building and economic connectivity in East Asia. Central to this research is a comparison between China’s neighbourhood diplomacy and region-building approaches and those of Japan, its Indo-Pacific partners, and other regional players, including South Korea and ASEAN. Through nuanced yet sharp analyses of regional contrasts and convergences, I hope to not only strengthen an underexposed field in IR and Western political discourse, but also to advance research-driven education within our (pan-)Asian curricula.

3. Historical statecraft, memory politics and transnational memory:

• War remembrance and memory alliances (China, Russia, Serbia, France, Belgium)
• Formation and suppression of narratives: identity, nationalism, authoritarianism
• Reconstruction and mobilization of martyrdom and heroism

I am currently leading a team of over 20 junior and senior researchers from the LIAS and beyond in a multidisciplinary research project on the legal, digital, and global dimensions of China’s authoritarian memory governance (‘Global China’s New Heroes’). Our projected output includes a joint volume on this topic for the Heritage and Memory Studies series of Amsterdam University Press (2026). The aim of this team production is to connect ground-breaking academic research on ‘global China’ from our unique mix of expertise and perspectives with current debates in memory studies, political science and law.

Teaching

For our Chinese Studies, Japanese Studies, Asian Studies, International Studies and International Relations programs, I have designed, developed and taught a wide range of BA and MA course modules, including:

• Modern Chinese History
• Nation Building en Memory Politics in Modern China
• China–Netherlands Relations: Past and Present
• China–Japan Relations
• East Asia: Regional Order and Connectivity
• China and the Global Political Economy
• Global Power: China’s Foreign Policy and International Relations
• Thesis Research Methods

Supervision

I supervise research on a variety of topics of modern Chinese history, memory studies and international relations, and especially at the intersection of these fields. In particular, I welcome projects on historical relations between China (Taiwan) and the Netherlands; the history of war and imperialism in East Asia; Chinese perceptions and notions of global governance, diplomacy and law; and transnational memory and memory alliances.

Publications