Publication Type

Journal Article

Version

acceptedVersion

Publication Date

4-2015

Abstract

In the 1990s, the so-called 'history problem' began to escalate in East Asia as the result of mutually reinforcing nationalist commemorations in Japan, South Korea and China. In response, historians from the three countries organized joint historical research and textbook projects. In this article, I examine the extent to which these joint projects succeeded in promoting the cosmopolitan logic of historiography that challenged nationalist commemorations. Specifically, I compare governmental and non-governmental projects and illustrate structural and dispositional mechanisms that facilitated the cosmopolitan logic of historiography. However, at the same time, I show that the joint projects have had only a limited impact on official and public commemorations because of the absence of any formal institutional links between historians' activities, governments and the public. Thus, while historians have the potential to act as rooted cosmopolitans and to mobilize transnational epistemic networks in East Asia, they have been unable effectively to counteract nationalist commemorations.

Keywords

Cosmopolitanism, East Asia, Historians, Nationalism, Transnational Epistemic Networks

Discipline

Asian Studies | Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration | Sociology

Research Areas

Sociology

Publication

Global Networks

Volume

15

Issue

2

First Page

161

Last Page

179

ISSN

1470-2266

Identifier

10.1111/glob.12067

Publisher

Wiley: 24 months

Copyright Owner and License

Authors

Additional URL

https://doi.org/10.1111/glob.12067

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