Speaker: Michal Kolmaš

Abstract

Ontologies of region formation: Towards a typology of region building in Asia

Although there is a clear rise in academic interest in region formation (and particularly in Asia due to the recent rise of Japan-proposed Indo-Pacific concept), theoretical approaches to the topic vary greatly, stemming from geopolitical identifications of objective regional boundaries, through functionalist ideas of regional linkages, to post-structuralist ideas about fluid regional belonging. This presentation provides a typology of region formation approaches, based on the ontological assumptions of its authors. The typology is based on two main debates within contemporary international relations ontology: regarding the basic components of reality (material vs. ideational) and regarding the status of theories (transfactual vs. phenomenalist). The presented matrix provides an ideal-typical position for each of these four iterations and illustrates its viability in the case of region formation literature on the Asia-Pacific. Doing so, the presentation contributes to (meta) theoretical discussions of how regions are formed while at the same time illustrating the often-overlooked stories of region formation.

Short bio

Name	Prof. Dr. Michal Kolmaš
Position	Ass. professor
Affiliation	Metropolitan University Prague
Research focus	constructivist and critical approaches to the study of international relations, Japanese foreign and domestic policies, climate change in international relations
relevant Publications	Kolmaš, Michal. & Qiao-Franco, G. & Karmazin, A. 2024. „Understanding region formation through proximity, interests and identity: debunking the Indo-Pacific as a viable regional demarcation”, The Pacific Review. [Online first]. Kolmaš, Michal. 2024. “Regional powers and the politics of scale”, International Politics 61, pp. 13-39. (with Prys-Hansen, M., Burilkov, A.) Kolmaš, Michal. 2023. “Diverging perceptions of the ‘Visegrad Four+’ format and the limits of the V4+Japan cooperation”, Asia Europe Journal 21(1), pp. 101-116. Kolmaš, Michal. 2023. “Climate Impacts of the Ukraine War”, Czech Journal of International Relations, 58(2), pp. 75-81. Kolmaš, Michal 2020: “Identity change and societal pressures in Japan: the constraints on Abe Shinzo’s educational and constitutional reform.” The Pacific Review 33 (2), pp. 185–215. DOI: 10.1080/09512748.2018.1540497.