Japan and the As-If International Systems

Adachi offers a groundbreaking reinterpretation of international relations through a non-Western lens and explores how Japan strategically engaged with, resisted, and at times created international systems-from the Chinese tributary system to the Western sovereign state system. By highlighting Japan's fluid participation in overlapping orders, the book challenges the notion of a singular, Western-centered international system. It blends global history with international relations theory to examine how identity, rather than mere power or interest, shapes a state's stance toward international systems to allow readers to gain a richly textured understanding of global politics, informed by historical sources from across Asia and Europe, and a fresh analytical framework for interpreting today's multipolar world. A valuable resource for scholars, researchers, and professionals of International Relations, Global IR, Asian history, and diplomatic studies and those interested in the evolution of international systems, the dynamics of U.S.-China rivalry, and the role of non-Western actors in shaping global order.

Kenki Adachi is Professor of International Politics at Ritsumeikan University, Japan. His works include Changing Arms Control Norms in International Society (London: Routledge, 2021), which won the 2023 International Studies Association Global IR Book Award, and The Ottawa Process: Formation Process of the Landmine Ban Regime (Tokyo: Yushindo, 2004), which won the 2004 Canadian Prime Minister Award.

List of Figures Acknowledgements Introduction: Rethinking Order through Strategic Performance 1. Origins of the Chinese International System and Japan's Strategic Engagement 2. Japan's Strategic Participation in the Chinese International System 3. Japan's As-If International System and Coexisting Orders 4. Japan's Strategic Withdrawal from As-If International Orders 5. Japan's Strategic Reentry into the Chinese International System 6. Japan's Response in a Collapsing East Asian Order 7. Japan's Strategic Agency between International Systems 8. Japan's Path from Ambiguity to Equality: Navigating Competing International Systems Conclusion: Strategic Performance and the Plural Foundations of International Order Index