Resumo Esta resenha faz referência ao livro Migration and Social Upheaval as the Face of Globalization in Central Asia, editado por Marlène Laruelle, que se concentra nas dimensões sociais e humanas da globalização e em como o fenômeno funciona como um catalisador à migração na Ásia Central. A região, convoluta como é por causa de fatores políticos, sociais e econômicos, é altamente impactada pelas oportunidades e pelos constrangimentos gerados pelo estado atual de interconectividade mundial.

Abstract This book review makes reference to the book Migration and Social Upheaval as the Face of Globalization in Central Asia, edited by Marlène Laruelle, which focuses on the social and human dimensions of globalization and on how the phenomenon acts as a catalyst to migration in Central Asia. The region, convoluted as it is because of political, social, and economic factors, is highly impacted by the opportunities and constraints brought about by the world’s current interconnectedness.

This article examines Japanese International Relations in the last quarter of the 20th century, highlighting the history of IR academic development and the opportunities and constraints posed by the International System. It demonstrates that Japanese approaches to IR varied in strength and representativeness, despite the co-existence of four strands of thought:Staatslehre, Historicist, Marxist and American Style. The lack of integration between these approaches and in methodological refining can be held accountable for the absence of a stricto sensubumiputra(autochthonous) Japanese theory of IR. The 1997 Asian Crisis was a fracture point in Japanese scholarly debate as it represented the ultimate failure of theGankou Keitairon (Flying Geese) paradigm, pertaining to the until-then highly reputed Staatslehre strand of thought. This effectively yielded towards a greater popularization of the American style approach and evidence suggests that such strand gained more and more adepts as years went by. Being heavily influenced by international events, however, it is difficult to predict how Japanese IR will develop in the future. To be sure, there are simply too many variables in Japanese regional and global political and economic environments for one to tell for sure if the American style approach will continue gaining adepts or if it is going to be rolled back and lose ground. International challenges, especially in the case of Japan, might produce unpredictable results, as to the academic debate in the field of IR.