Asian Futures

A new seminar series at the University of Copenhagen

Asia has long been an object of speculation in global politics and the economy. Once a sign of underdevelopment and population growth in the mid-20^th-century  ^“Asian drama”, 21^st -century Asia was predicted to be at the heart of global capitalism, the veritable “Asian century” of economic growth and prosperity. This Asian dynamic has been unsettled once again as the recent backlash against free-market globalization, the nation-first policies, Sino-US “trade wars”, and the attendant reconfiguration of commodity supply chains make a comeback.

Asia is now at the center of the drawing board of political and economic global futures as the strategic idea of “Indo-Pacific” or political realignment along democratic values takes a tentative shape. Now, speculations abound about how regional Asian rivalries might shape the emerging trade blocs like the RCEP, global supply chains, and capital flows. Or for that matter, how the unfolding India-China border skirmishes in the Himalayas; or the pushback against democratic movements in many parts of Asia might rearrange the political-economic landscape. 

Drawing on fresh scholarly work by researchers around the world, Asian Futures will begin a series of conversations on the shifting dynamics of Asian politics and the economy.  

The seminar series is convened by Ravinder Kaur, Associate Professor, Modern India and South Asia Studies and Jørgen Delman, Professor Emeritus, China Studies, Department of Cross-Cultural and Regional Studies and organized in collaboration with ADI. 

Coming events

Previous events

9 September 
After the War: Regional Perspectives on Afghanistan
Roundtable discussion with scholars from the Dept. of Cross-Cultural and Regional Studies

16 June
From the Asian to the Indo-Pacific Century?
Panel debate with Akio Takahara, S.D. Muni, Premesha Saha and Peter Marcus Kristensen

28 May
The Viral Condition: Vaccines, Public Health, and Infrastructures of Inequality
Panel debate with Dwai Banerjee, Emilija Zabiliute, Ayo Wahlberg and Ravinder Kaur

15 April
Making It Count: Statistics and Statecraft in the Early People's Republic of China
Book talk with Arunabh Ghosh

16 March
India's China Challenge - A Journey through China's Rise and What it means for India
Book talk with Ananth Krishnan

3 February
Rethinking the Asian Century
Seminar in honor of Jørgen Delman, Professor Emeritus, China Studies