Description:This book looks at East Asian actors in the League of Nations to explore a pivotal moment in the early stage of the development of global international relations. It breaks new ground by drawing on extensive sources in East Asian languages to show how actors from the region played significant roles in shaping the emerging norms and practices that underpin the international system. The chapters cover cases from the three East Asian member states, namely China, Japan and Siam (Thailand) to address topics that involve the intersection of disciplinary fields, such as law and warfare, sovereignty and international organization, and public health and international co-operation. The research draws on new material that will be of interest to academic researchers and is presented in a style suitable for teaching at undergraduate and graduate levels, especially for courses that strive to achieve a global outlook and the decolonization of the curriculum.
- The first book to give full agency to East Asians in the emergence of the international system
- The only book on the League of Nations that relies on extensive East Asian language sources
- Scholars from East Asia and beyond challenge the Eurocentric narrative of global politics
Table of Contents
Introduction: Locating Eastern Asia and the League in Global International Relations
Christopher R. Hughes, Hatsue Shinohara
Pages 1-8
The League of Nations in a World of Empires
Liberal Internationalism Reconsidered: Inter-Imperialism, Liberalism, and the League of Nations in Asia and the Pacific
Tomoko Akami
Pages 11-36
The League’s Technical Work in the Years of Growing Nationalism
Harumi Goto-Shibata
Pages 37-57
Global Networks Between Civilisations
The Far-Eastern Bureau of the League of Nations: Linking the Regional and International Orders Through Health Work
Kayo Takuma
Pages 61-79
Japanese International Lawyers and the Codification of International Law in the League of Nations
Rikiya Takahashi
Pages 81-99
Intellectual Entanglements Between the League of Nations and Eastern Asia: Modernism or Anti-modernism?
Takashi Saikawa
Pages 101-118
Members
Siam’s Attempt at Neutrality: Coping with the League of Nations’ Multilateralism
Teewin Suputtikun
Pages 121-144
Japan’s Diplomats in the League Council: The Challenge of Managing Power and Ideals in the Pacific Settlement of Disputes
Hatsue Shinohara
Pages 145-169
China’s Response to the Ethiopian Crisis (1935–1938)
Chang Li
Pages 171-194
Manchuria
Aborted Ideas of an Internationally Administered Manchuria: The Background to the Lytton Report
Haruo Tohmatsu
Pages 197-221
Public Opinion and the League: Newspaper Coverage of the Lytton Commission in China
Lunhai Mu
Pages 223-247
Sovereignty as ‘Organised Hypocrisy’: China’s Diplomats and the Lytton Commission
Christopher R. Hughes
Pages 249-275
Conclusion: Eastern Asia and the League—Shifting to a Global Perspective
Madeleine Herren
Pages 277-291
