Islands of Contention: History, Culture and Power

2013 East Asia Security Symposium: Conference
China Foreign Affairs University, Beijing
29 June 2013

The 2013 conference – Islands of Contention: History, Culture and Power – will focus on new research in fields such as diplomacy, history, international conflict management, global political economy, international relations, peace studies and strategic theory. Participants in this ongoing series of conferences represent numerous disciplines, and often employ inter-disciplinary methods in developing their research..

Peer Reviewed Research Output Opportunities

The conference offers participants two peer-reviewed research output opportunities.

Peer-Reviewed Conference Paper: Those participants wishing to have their conference paper peer-reviewed and published may request this in consultation with the conference directors and should do so prior to the conference. The East Asian Studies Center at China Foreign Affairs University regularly publishes peer reviewed papers as does the East Asia Security Symposium and Conference Peer reviewed Publishing Site at Bond University. You may publish in English, Mandarin or both.

• Manuscript format requirements
• Submit a Conference Paper

Book Chapter: From the 2009 conference presentations Bond University Press has published the book Chinese Engagements: Regional Issues with Global Implications (Hardcopy and Kindle Version). From the following conference presentations the book China: New Horizons is under development with Routledge Press. Both books have been co-edited by the co-directors of the conference Brett McCormick and Jonathan H. Ping. Our expectation is to continue compiling appropriately related papers for similar book publications.

Format and Eligibility: Conference presentations are ten minutes in length; all customary presentation facilities are provided. All registered participants in the East Asia Security Symposium are eligible to present papers. Non symposium participants are able to present but must submit an abstract (500 words) for review prior to the conference and pay a US$80 conference fee. Applicants will be notified of acceptance within two weeks of abstract submission.

Conference Theme: Islands of Contention: History, Culture and Power

The past twelve months in East Asia has been marked by numerous island centered incidents. In the East China Sea and the South China Sea (Diaoyu /Senkaku, Dokdo/Takeshima and Paracels, Scarborough Shoals, Spratly) the overlapping claims by states are old, but the islands have been both targets and symbols of renewed policy and power projection. Arising from these islands of contention China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and the ASEAN states are forced to manage significant and incendiary issues such as rising domestic populism, regional integration goals, resource scarcity concerns, broader global relations (in particular with the United States), with these all bounded by centuries of historical and cultural variances. It is thus not surprising that they each have both different claims and positions regarding resolution of these island centered incidents. In addition, China and Japan each have new leaders and thus opportunity to pursue or dispel their most recent claims and positions.

The unresolved disputation has divergent effects on the politics, economy and security of all nation-states but as a result of the interdependence of the modern economy and the capacity of military technology these regional disputes are of global concern. How do the individual states and/or economies conceive the islands? What are the opportunities and how and why are they being contested? What are the unresolved or emerging issues which constrain and divide those with vested interests? Do the differing historical, cultural and power capacities oblige the Islands of Contention to be regional and global threats to security? Are there any precedents of how resolution was successfully sought in other regions or historical periods?

Beyond the conference theme all paper proposals with a China focus are considered. Exemplar issues that may be deliberated include the overt extension of Chinese maritime attentions into the Indian Ocean; new visions of bilateral, regional or multilateral relations; new fields of interaction across the playing fields, of for example, global economies, technology and even space; new theoretical concepts and critiques; the differing roles of great, middle or small powers; the pace, place and conceptions of development and democracy with regard to security, stability and other political and economic goods. Our 2013 theme – Islands of Contention: History, Culture and Power – looks to synthesize and generate multi-disciplinary reviews and analysis. What are your ideas? Share and publish them through the East Asia Security Symposium and Conference!