CfC: Special Issue of ASIEN on Transnational Flows of Contemporary Asia (Deadline: 2021-06-10)

Journal Output:
ASIEN Journal (The German Journal on Contemporary Asia)
Issue Editors:
An Huy Tran (University of Duisburg-Essen)
Aimi Muranaka (University of Duisburg-Essen)
Beatrice Zani (University of Tuebingen)
Yu-chin Tseng (University of Tuebingen)

One of the biggest characteristics of the global world is the intensification in movements across borders of people, objects, information, ideas, capital, and power. Amongst others, the developments of information and communication technologies and other infrastructures have allowed the transnationality of different forms of movement to accelerate and become imminent. For example, even with the disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic on international travel, some other types of mobility that occur across nation-states still last and even exacerbate (Xiang 2020). Despite the normalization of movements across boundaries, borders still exist and present several challenges to the transnationality of many movements (Mezzadra and Neilson 2013). Understanding movement in its complexity thus means observing the dialectics between mobility and immobility (Glick Schiller and Salazar 2013), where mobility is achieved through different processes of adaptation, negotiation, and transgression of borders by its very actors.

Through the notion of ‘transnational flows’, this special issue proposes to trace, unfold and investigate various mobilities within, from, and to Asia, a major hub of ever-changing movements of human, finance, capital, and products. It considers ‘transnational flows’ as covering movements, mobilities, and streams that not only cross but also challenge, contest and transgress borders. These flows include but are not limited to tangible mobilities and circulations of humans, commodities, objects, practices but also intangible movements of ideas, information, norms, and power. The notion of ‘flows’ thus helps to apprehend the speed, density, and acceleration of movements simultaneously across time, space and scales. Concurrently, it sheds light on how movements are achieved, shaped, facilitated, and invites the analysis of different types of borders as well as the effects of transnational flows on societies and institutions.

We are, however, aware of the obscure connotations of ‘flows’ as a concept. For example, scholars have critiqued that the notion of ‘flows’ conveys a sense of ease, a smoothness of motion that might not capture exactly how many movements work. Therefore, the special issue seeks to look at not only fluid movements, but also immobilities, fractures, or disruption and interruptions that co-exist or emerge as the results of transnational flows of Asia. Beyond intra-Asian mobilities, this special issue also considers transregional and transnational flows that connect Asia to other parts of the world to understand the articulated asymmetrical power relations between different actors and institutions around the globe. ‘Asia’ in this sense is subsequently not limited to geographical locations but rather goes beyond national/ regional/geographical frameworks.

This special issue seeks theoretical and empirical contributions that address transnational flows within, from, and to contemporary Asia from an interdisciplinary and multi-level perspective. We invite paper submissions to consider the following topics and questions:
– The emergence of transnational flows within, from, and to contemporary Asia.
– How are transnational flows constructed/conditioned? What kind of actors are involved in the processes of shaping and facilitating transnational flows?
– How do transnational flows shape/structure different types of mobility and movement across borders? What kinds of immobility, constraint, or interruption coexist with or emerge out of these transnational flows?
– What are the infrastructures (ICT, transports, etc.) which condition, facilitate or challenge transnational flows?
– How do transnational flows challenge the boundaries of nations, communities, and ideologies? How are different flows reconstituting the ways in which we see societies and institutions?

Please note that we also welcome contributions that consider transnational flows outside of the suggested topics/questions. This special issue will be published on ASIEN Journal (The German Journal on Contemporary Asia).

For those who are interested in contributing, please send us an abstract of your article (max. 300 words) and a short bio (max 100 words) by 10.06.2021 to the editors:
An Huy Tran (huy.tranan@area-ruhr.de)
Dr. Aimi Muranaka (aimi.muranaka@uni-due.de)
Dr. Beatrice Zani (beatrice.zani92@gmail.com)
Dr. Yu-chin Tseng (yu-chin.tseng@unituebingen. de)

Suggested Publication Time Frame
10.06.2021: Deadline for Abstracts.
End of June 2021: Deciding on the list of contributions for the special issue. 30.08.2021: Deadline of the first draft.
30.09.2021: Finishing internal review.
Mid-November 2021: Deadline for revised manuscript.
End of November 2021: Sending the issue to ASIEN for peer-review.
2022: Tentative publication of the special issue.