Where is the Asia Pacific in mainstream international relations scholarship on the Anthropocene?

Abstract

Some scientists propose that the Earth has entered the Anthropocene—a new geological age in which human activities have become the driving force behind global environmental changes. Several disciplines outside the natural sciences have engaged with debates surrounding the Anthropocene, including International Relations (IR), in order to theorise their relevance in this new age. To pluralise this burgeoning research area and contribute to the updating of the IR discipline’s engagement with the Anthropocene discourse, this study seeks to locate and highlight the Anthropocene themes and narratives related to the Asia-Pacific region. A systematic review of the literature reveals knowledge gaps in the IR discipline’s engagement with the Asia Pacific as a unique region in the Anthropocene, encouraging a more robust analysis of regional or multi-level anthropogenic contributions, closer investigation of differentiated experiences of vulnerability, and further articulation of contextualised yet globally significant solutions to environmental threats. The mainstream scholarship needs to engage with the Asia-Pacific experience(s) in the Anthropocene considering the region’s vulnerability to the challenges of the Anthropocene and, at the same time, responsibility for increased anthropogenic factors.