Rising Asia Foundation invites papers/proposals for its 2021 annual three-day foreign policy conference, to be held as a webinar, from May 17-19, 2021. The deadline for proposals is March 1, 2021. All proposals should be submitted via email to the co-chairs of the conference: Mr. Sitaram Sharma, sharmasitaram2011@gmail.com, and Dr. Harish C. Mehta, harish.mehta@utoronto.ca. In your email, mention “RISING ASIA CONFERENCE PAPER” in the subject line.
The conference seeks to explore the foreign relations of Asia as they exist and to ponder their likely trajectories till 2050, in a broad sense, incorporating diplomacies of all kinds—formal and informal, economic, military, and cultural. In 2020, the Asian continent was widely expected to become larger than the rest of the world combined by the measure of purchasing power parity, for the first time since the nineteenth century, as the continent was growing richer and integrating better. It was thought that an Asian Century would be constructed by Asians working closely together in a spirit of cooperation. However, Asians are becoming divided over unresolved border and sovereignty disputes, some of which are a legacy of a difficult geography, colonial history, and recent expansive claims.
To what extent can these differences disrupt harmony? And can regional for a such as the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations work to restore normalcy? Can the differences impede progress towards multilateral trade liberalization under the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP)?
So, what will be the shape of a New Asian Order? The policies of one of Asia’s dominant powers, China, will be significant in determining the nature of a new Asian Order—and whether it creates a benign or troubled Asia. Will China act as a hegemon? Will it uphold the international order in line with its responsibility as a major global player? China is expected to function as the Asian growth engine for Asia, but will it dictate the shape of the Asian Order or will it work in cooperation with other Asian powers? To what extent will South Asia, Southeast Asia, South Korea, Taiwan, Japan and Australasia accept a Chinese-shaped Asian order?
What will be reaction, till 2050, of the other Asian powers—India, Japan, ASEAN, South Korea, Taiwan, and Australasia—to the rise of China, which coincidentally is occurring with their own rise. Can Asia rise together, or will it witness the rise of a single power determined to prevent other Asian powers from prospering under a benign Asian sun?
The conference aims to examine the disputes, the conflicts, and the hegemonies from multiple perspectives, across all disciplines. Papers should focus on the broad topic of “Asia Now, Asia 2050: The Making of a New Asian Order” through the following themes, sandwiching the present between the past and the future, and looking as far ahead as possible through the creation of possible future scenarios:
Scholars should approach the topic of the New Asian Order from the unique perspectives of their own disciplines. Presenters must ensure that their papers provide a fresh perspective, a novel approach, or a new contribution to the literature.
In the end, the conference seeks to identify ways of building bridges of harmony in order to explore prospects of reimagining and resurrecting Asian unity, and to reclaim the promise of an Asian Century, a concept that appears to have fragmented in the storm of the divisive regional politics of the continent. The Asian Century itself—which was expected to result from the continent becoming the preeminent economic centre of the world—may be slipping out of reach. It appears like a fleeting chimera because military and social tensions have spread in a wide parabolic arc across parts of South Asia, Southeast Asia, and East Asia, dividing those countries not only along old historic fault lines but also through the articulation of new ones. In this environment, the unfortunate conflation of the Covid-19 pandemic and trade wars has arrested the rise of Asia.
The Rising Asia Foundation will invite an eminent diplomat, scholar, or author to deliver a 45-minute lecture at the conference. The Program Committee will select the appropriate distinguished lecturer.
Who May Participate in the Conference?
Anybody who is interested in the multidisciplinary study of Asia such as University Faculty, Diplomats, Military and Government officials, Corporate persons/businesspersons, Graduate Students, Film Makers, Journalists, Multilateral Institution Staff, Publishers/Editors, Independent Scholars, and Think Tank members.
Deadline:
Proposals for papers may be submitted immediately until March 1, 2021, which is the deadline. After the submission deadline, all the proposals will be reviewed by the Program Committee and its various Sub-Committees.
Types of Papers:
There are three categories of proposal submissions:
(1) Organized Panels, (2) Roundtables. In these two categories, the presenters should get together and decide a common theme. There is a maximum of four presenters in a Panel/Roundtable, (3) Individual Papers: We welcome submissions from individual presenters.
Further details for Organized Panels and Roundtables:
Each Panel or Roundtable must nominate an Organizer or Submitter, who must collect and provide the following information for each person participating:
Further details for Individual Papers:
Individuals submissions should include all the above items (1) through (5).
Disciplines and Fields:
The conference is multidisciplinary, spanning disciplines and fields such as Business Management, Cinema Studies/Film, Communications, Diasporic Literature, Economics, Education, Foreign Policy/Affairs, Gender & Sexuality, Geography, History, Information Technology, International Relations, Language, Law, Literature (including World Literature), Military Affairs, Performing Arts, Political Science, Population Studies, Psychology, Religion, Sociology, Urban Studies, War & Society, and Women’s Studies.
Geographies:
Submissions should focus on a particular geographic area of study, or a specific country or countries: South Asia, Southeast Asia, East Asia and Northeast Asia, and China and its neighboring states, as well as Australasia.
Peer Review and Acceptance:
Publication of Book:
All paper presenters will be invited to submit finished papers for consideration for publication as a book to be published by Rising Asia Foundation in collaboration with an international publishing house. The deadline for submission for final papers is October 31, 2021. Papers will be selected following a peer review. Authors should prepare their final papers according to the “Submission Policy” and “Style Guidelines” provided on the website of the Rising Asia Journal.
