Asian Expansions: The historical experiences of polity expansion in Asia

摘要

While openly acknowledging the effects of European expansion on global structures, Geoff Wade argues that "the assumption that non-European polities were passive" or "non-expansive" should be readdressed. (p. 1) Within this vein, Asian Expansion takes up the ambitious task of examining polity expansion, principally in East and Southeast Asia, as a foil to European models. While scrutinising myriad motivations, methods and models for "comparative Asian polity expansion", the contributors simultaneously demonstrates that Asian polities were equally concerned with the political, economic and strategic advantages of empire.