This lecture reflects upon the broader implications of the speaker’s recent research on developing region-centric approaches to investigate and understand the evolution of international relations and order in East Asia. Such approaches take seriously complex regional contexts, privilege regional perceptions and concerns, and favour research questions that arise from regional empirical patterns and experiences. Building upon the analysis in her 2020 book Rethinking Sino-Japanese Alienation (co-authored with Barry Buzan), Goh advances three propositions – about when the ‘post-war’ period actually started in East Asia; why bargains offer a better framework to explain key regional relationships and social structures; and on which great power dyad East Asia’s future relies if not the United States and China. She explains why and how each proposition significantly alters our understanding of East Asia, and advances IR theorising in general.

Evelyn Goh FBA FASSA is the Shedden Professor of Strategic Policy Studies at The Australian National University, where she is also Director of the Southeast Asia Institute. A scholar of International Relations and international security, she is also a regional specialist whose areas of research span China, the United States, Northeast Asia, and Southeast Asia.