Guanxi of Relational International Theory

Emilian Kavalski is the Li Dak Sum Chair Professor in China-Eurasia Relations and International Studies at the University of Nottingham, Ningbo, China. Previously he was Associate Professor of Global Studies at the Institute for Social Justice, Australian Catholic University. Emilian's research focusses on post-colonial literature, European politics, International Theory, Asian affairs, and the post-humanities.

• Introduction: The Columbus Syndrome of International Relations. Chapter 1: A Relational Dance or a Scripted Concert of Vienna? Chapter 2: The Relational Turns in the Anglosphere and SInosphere of International Relations. Chapter 3: The Guanxi of Relationality. Conclusion: A Relational Theory of International Relations beyond the Eurocentric Frame.

"Major Asian powers’ contextual modes of inquiry are progressively shaping how international relations are and should be governed. Kavalski’s timely contribution puts ‘relational IR theorizing’ – whose roots and applications are truly universal – back on the agenda. His brave and non-essentialist account genuinely engages in a dialogue between Western- and non-Western IR approaches that complement each other in grasping and managing the complexity of ‘global life’ in the new world order. " - Matthias Vanhullebusch, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Author of Global Governance, Conflict and China (2018)"Emilian Kavalski critically assesses the way the 1815 ‘Congress of Vienna’ has shaped Western Europe’s perception of the world, and shows how China’s re-emergence on the global stage challenges the way we usually make sense of this country’s foreign policy. This is a thought-provoking work that shakes the fundaments of the field of international relations studies as it exists today." - Bart Dessein, Ghent University, Belgium