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Dr. Ed Griffith

Principal Lecturer in Asia Pacific Studies

School of Humanities, Language and Global Studies

Adelphi Building, AB152

+44 (0) 1772 89 4245

egriffith@uclan.ac.uk

Ed Griffith’s research interests are mainly focussed on the international relations of East Asia, in particular the Sino-Japanese relationship and China’s approach to its own changing role in the region. He is interested in exploring how established IR theories can be adapted to deepen our understanding of China’s behaviour in developing its relationships with neighbouring countries.

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After a varied career that included pub management and computer sales, a voluntary teaching position in China gave Ed a taste for all things Chinese and a BA in International Relations put that into some perspective. A fascination with the Sino-Japanese relationship led him to pursue Masters degrees in both Chinese and Japanese Studies before embarking on his PhD, which examined the response of China to the Yasukuni Shrine controversy during Koizumi Junichiro’s tenure.

Ed joined UCLan in September 2014 as course leader for the rapidly expanding Asia-Pacific Studies. He is continuing to work on research into the Sino-Japanese relationship and different perspectives on East Asian international relations more generally.

Ed had an article published on The Conversation in April 2018 about the Korean peace process entitled ‘A Korean peace process is underway – but it still depends on the US and China’
 

Qualifications

  • Ph.D. East Asian Studies, University of Leeds, 2014
  • M.A. Japanese Studies, University of Leeds, 2010
  • M.A. Chinese Studies, SOAS, 2008
  • B.A. (Hons.) International Relations & Global Politics, Nottingham Trent University, 2007
     

Research Activities

  • Sino-Japanese Relations
  • International Relations in East Asia

Publications

​Tao, Yu  and Griffith, Ed  (2019) Making Critical Thinking Skills Training Explicit, Engaging, and Effective through Live Debates on Current Political Issues: A Pilot Pedagogical Experiment. PS: Political Science & Politics . ISSN 1049-0965

Tao, Yu and Griffith, Ed  (2019) Religious Diversity with Chinese Characteristics? Meanings and implications of the term ‘religious diversity’ in contemporary Chinese dissertations. In: Religious Diversity in Asia. Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-41581-2

Griffith, Ed and Rose, Caroline (2018) China-Japan Relations. In: The SAGE Handbook of Contemporary China [Two Volume Set]. SAGE Publications Ltd, London, pp. 543-564. ISBN 978-1-4739-4894-5

Rose, Caroline and Griffith, Ed  (2018) Sino-Japanese Relations since 1945. In: Oxford Bibliographies in Chinese Studies. Oxford University Press, New York.

Tao, Yu and Griffith, Ed  (2018) The State and ‘Religious Diversity’ in Chinese Dissertations. Religions, 9 (12). p. 402.

Teaching Activities

  • AI3001 Asia-Pacific International Relations
  • AI4101: China-Japan-Korea Trilateral Relations

Membership of Professional and Learned Bodies

  • European Association for Chinese Studies
  • European Association for Japanese Studies
  • Sino-Japanese Relations Research Network
  • White Rose East Asia Centre
  • International Institute for Korean Studies at UCLan

PhD supervision

Priscilla Jung Kim. “United States’ Track II Diplomacy during the Second North Korean Nuclear Crisis (2002-2008)”

Ed is accepting applications for PhD research and is happy to supervise PhDs on any aspect of East Asian international relations, especially the Sino-Japanese relationship. Please contact him directly to discuss.