Jan. 3, 2022 – National Chengchi University’s College of Social Sciences had the honor of hosting a talk by Prof. Amitav Acharya from American University to present his theory of Global International Relations. Although this speech was held at the end of the semester, this talk was attended by many members of the faculty and students who were interested in how to best incorporate global IR theory into their studies.
As a renowned academic in the field of International Relations, International Security, and Comparative Regionalism, Prof. Acharya is primarily known for his work on Southeast Asia and emphasizing a more inclusive, global lens of study. He served as the chairman of the International Studies Association (ISA) from 2014 to 2015 and was the first non-Western scholar to hold this position. He currently lectures at the School of International Service at American University in the United States, and sat as a chair professor of UNESCO’s “Transnational Challenges and Governance” program.
During this talk, Professor Acharya shared his theory of international relations, and took his own diverse growth background as an example, emphasizing that global research should be more inclusive. As an Indian-born Canadian scholar who now resides in Washington, D.C., he suggested students look past the Western-centric world order, and look towards regions in the Global South to shape their understanding of IR. He also highlighted that the field of international relations is experiencing a shift in thinking, where theories are becoming grounded with ideas and data from Asia, Africa, and Latin America, resulting in a more global framework for looking at the world. Professor Acharya therefore expects that his theory and work will continue to inspire the next generation of scholars to recognize the value of a non-Western perspective.
After the talk, many professors in the field of International Relations, including Prof. Chyungly Lee, Prof. Ghulam Ali, and Prof. Lev Nachman all enthusiastically engaged in discussion with this renowned expert in the field, developing momentum for IR track students to ask their own questions.
