The region of East Asia is of enormous importance to the global economy. It is also home to some of the world’s most vexing security issues. Despite their geographic proximity, the countries of East Asia have had varied experiences with democracy and authoritarianism, economic development, and relationships with the outside world.  The potential for these countries to serve as the basis for theoretical breakthroughs in the fields of comparative politics, political economy, and international relations is vast.  Looking closely at their histories and current policy challenges could help identify new questions of interest and reorient political science around new lines of inquiry.  Despite this, too few political scientists make these countries their focus of interest today. A factor that likely contributes to this is the dearth of workshops and conferences in which empirical research on East Asia is the main focus.

Called Frontiers in Empirical Research on East Asia (FEREA), our conference aims to spotlight cutting-edge research on politics in East Asia by providing a venue in which leading and emerging scholars of the region working in the fields of political economy, comparative politics, and international relations showcase and share work with one another and with colleagues at NYU Politics.