Civilization and Empire

Shogo Suzuki is lecturer in Chinese Politics at the University of Manchester. His research focuses on International Relations with reference to East Asia, Chinese and Japanese foreign policy and Sino-Japanese relations.

• Introduction 1. Socialization into International Society 2. The East Asian International Society 3. Acquiring Knowledge: Chinese and Japanese Perceptions of European International Society 4. Learning the Competence and Skill to be a ‘Civilized’ State: State Reconfiguration in China 5. Learning the Competence and Skill to be a ‘Civilized’ State: State Reinvention in Japan 6. Demonstrating ‘Civilized’ Identity: Dismantling the Tribute System. Conclusion.

How did contemporary international society develop? Suzuki provides a compelling account of its East Asian dimension. Shifting the English-school focus from 'society' to 'socialization’, he shows how Japan absorbed lessons from its encounter with European society that were different from those learned by China, and included its imperial dimension. Rather than offer a Eurocentric narrative, Suzuki weaves together a rich indigenous tapestry. The result is a landmark study.Ian Clark FBA, ESRC Professorial Fellow and E H Carr Professor, Department of International Politics, Aberystwyth University, UKSuzuki succeeds magnificently at three levels with this book. It is, first, a major work of scholarship, using Japanese, Chinese and English language sources to reassess China and Japan's interaction with the West in the Nineteenth Century. Secondly, it offers the most nuanced analysis of Nineteenth Century international society to appear to date. Thirdly, it is an important development of the 'English School' argument that the international society concept provides an alternative (and more sophisticated) theoretical starting point for the study of international relations than the currently dominant Realist perspectives. Professor David Armstrong, Department of Politics, University of Exeter, UK