AREA Ruhr Roundtable Discussion (in person) with Prof. Richard J. Cook (Nankai University, China):
Navigating the China Information Gap: East Asia Order & Insider Perspectives
Date: 08 September 2025
Time: 14:00-15.30
Location: AREA Ruhr/University of Duisburg-Essen, Campus Duisburg, Geibelstr. 41, SG 183
Please join us for a two-part AREA Ruhr Roundtable Discussion with China-expert Prof. Richard J. Cook Ph.D. (Nankai University, China). The aim of this in-person event is to bring the analysis of East Asia’s regional order into dialogue with research practices in/about China. In doing so, we will concentrate on
- Geopolitics/Regional Order: Secondary states’ room for manoeuvre amid US–China competition; implications for analysis and policy advice.
- Research in/about China: Access, ethics, collaborations, and publication practices under heightened geopolitical tensions.
In order to prepare for the meeting, we would like to recommend the following two readings:
- Evelyn Goh, “China’s East Asia Challenge: Managing a Complex Regional Order,” Global Asia (open access).
https://www.globalasia.org/v15no2/cover/chinas-east-asia-challenge-managing-a-complex-regional-order_evelyn-goh - Matias Spektor, “In Defense of the Fence Sitters: What the West Gets Wrong About Hedging,” Foreign Affairs (online with limited access).
https://www.foreignaffairs.com/world/global-south-defense-fence-sitters
Please register with AREA Ruhr if you would like to attend the meeting at:
office@area-ruhr.de.
Speaker bio:
Richard J. Cook, Ph.D., is Professor at the Institute of International Relations, Zhou Enlai School of Government, Nankai University, China.
His research focuses on international relations in the Asia-Pacific, China–US relations, secondary-state behavior and strategies, hierarchy in international relations, China–Europe relations, and international security.
He is lead author of Asia-Pacific Secondary States as Kingmakers: Alignment Roles in the China–US Strategic Competition (London and New York: Routledge, 2025). His publications have appeared in The Chinese Journal of International Politics, The Journal of Chinese Political Science, Journal of Contemporary China, International Relations, The Pacific Review, Europe-Asia Studies, Korea Observer, Journal of Political Science Education, The Journal of Latin American Studies, and other leading journals.