Asian Survey

Asian Survey
Title	Asian Survey
Discipline	Asian studies
Abbreviation	Asian Surv.
Publisher	University of California Press
Country	United States
Frequency	Bimonthly
History	1933–present
Issn	0004-4687

Asian Survey

Asian Survey is a peer-reviewed academic journal covering contemporary Asia with emphasis on politics, society, and international relations. Founded in the early 20th century, it publishes research articles, review essays, and policy analyses that engage scholars working on China, India, Japan, Korea, Southeast Asia, and transregional phenomena involving Russia, United States, European Union, and United Nations institutions. Contributors include historians, political scientists, sociologists, and area specialists who draw on archival sources, statistical data, and fieldwork from locations such as Beijing, New Delhi, Tokyo, Seoul, Jakarta, and Manila.

History

The journal traces institutional roots to scholarly associations and publishing initiatives that emerged amid debates over East Asia and South Asia during the interwar and postwar eras, reflecting intellectual currents shaped by events like the Second Sino-Japanese War, the Indian Independence Movement, and the Cold War. Early editorial collaborations involved scholars affiliated with University of California, Harvard University, Columbia University, London School of Economics, and regional research institutes such as the American Institute of Indian Studies and the Japan Institute of International Affairs. Over decades the journal documented decolonization episodes including the Partition of India, the Indonesian National Revolution, and the formation of states like Pakistan and Bangladesh, while also publishing analyses of diplomatic milestones such as the Geneva Conference, the Treaty of San Francisco, and normalization processes like the Nixon visit to China.

In the 1960s and 1970s the publication expanded its remit to cover social movements and conflict episodes including the Vietnam War, the Chinese Cultural Revolution, and insurgencies in Sri Lanka and Philippines. Later editorial shifts reflected the end of the Cold War and the rise of economic liberalization in cases such as China under Deng Xiaoping, India under Manmohan Singh reforms, and market transformations in Thailand and Malaysia. Recent history shows sustained engagement with issues tied to ASEAN, Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, and maritime disputes in the South China Sea.

Scope and Content

The journal's scope encompasses political developments, diplomatic relations, security studies, and socioeconomic change across continent-spanning topics like Belt and Road Initiative, Indo-Pacific strategy, and cross-border migration involving Afghanistan, Myanmar, and Bangladesh. It features case studies on national leadership such as analyses of figures linked to Mao Zedong, Jawaharlal Nehru, Shinzo Abe, and Park Chung-hee, as well as institutional studies of entities like the People's Liberation Army, the Indian National Congress, the Japan Self-Defense Forces, and the Korean Workers' Party. The journal publishes comparative work that places developments in Singapore alongside those in Hong Kong and Taiwan, and connects regional integration debates to the activities of the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and the Asian Development Bank.

Methodologically the publication accepts quantitative analyses utilizing datasets produced by organizations such as World Values Survey teams and the United Nations Development Programme, ethnographic fieldwork conducted in locales like Ladakh and Aceh, and archival research drawing on collections from the National Archives (United Kingdom), the US National Archives, and national libraries in Beijing and Tokyo. It also considers cultural and intellectual histories addressing literature linked to authors like Rabindranath Tagore, Lu Xun, and Haruki Murakami when tied to broader political or social change.

Editorial Structure and Publication Details

The journal is edited by an editorial board composed of scholars affiliated with universities and research centers such as University of California, Berkeley, Yale University, National University of Singapore, Peking University, University of Tokyo, and the Oriental Institute (University of Chicago). Peer review is double-blind and overseen by section editors specializing in subregions: East Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia, Central Asia, and transregional affairs involving actors like Russia and European Commission delegations. Issues are released bimonthly and include special issues guest-edited around themes such as urbanization in Shanghai, energy diplomacy in Central Asia, or legal reform in Myanmar.

The publisher maintains policies on data availability and research ethics, requiring compliance with institutional review boards such as those at Stanford University and University of Oxford when human subjects research is involved. Submissions are managed via an online platform and adhere to style conventions aligned with major citation practices used by journals published by presses including Cambridge University Press and Oxford University Press.

Abstracting and Indexing

The journal is indexed in major bibliographic services that catalog humanities and social science publications, including databases maintained by ProQuest, EBSCO, and JSTOR. It is listed in indexing services such as Scopus and has metadata harvested by discovery systems operated by libraries like the Library of Congress and the British Library. Abstracting coverage aids researchers consulting compendia such as the Annual Review series and citation platforms connected to Clarivate Analytics products.

Impact and Reception

Scholars cite the journal in works addressing geopolitics of the Indo-Pacific, analyses of economic transformation in China, debates over federalism in India, and studies of governance in ASEAN member states including Vietnam and Philippines. Its articles have informed policy discussions in fora such as United Nations panels, World Economic Forum briefings, and national foreign ministries in capitals like Tokyo and Seoul. Reception in academic circles recognizes the publication for advancing area studies debates while sometimes drawing critique on editorial balance between theoretically driven research and policy-oriented analysis; such conversations involve commentators from institutions like Columbia University, London School of Economics, and Australian National University.

Category:Area studies journals Category:Academic journals established in 1933