UC Press Blog

Afghanistan has a rich history of customary or traditional governance structures which have remained central to the lives of most citizens, who rely on these community-based bodies to resolve disputes, provide small-scale public goods and services, and to broker relations with local government. The

We've removed the paywall from Asian Survey's annual year-in-review issue which looks back at the biggest stories concerning Asia in 2020, a year during which the COVID-19 pandemic and a trade dispute between the United States and China dominated the headlines. As the world continues to grapple with

This post is part of our UC Press Editor Spotlight Series.For this year’s virtual Association for Asian Studies conference, we connected with UC Press Asian Studies Editor Reed Malcolm to talk about our program and what new projects he’s most excited about. Reed also discusses our Luminos Op

By Jan Bardsley, author of Maiko Masquerade: Crafting Geisha Girlhood in JapanThis guest post is part of our #AAS2021 conference series. Visit our virtual exhibit to learn more.“What kinds of geisha stories exist these days in Japan?”“Are Japanese people reading novels and seeing mov

By David M. Lampton, co-author of Rivers of Iron: Railroads and Chinese Power in Southeast AsiaThis guest post is part of our #AAS2021 conference series. Visit our virtual exhibit to learn more.With its global-scale Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and railway-building exertions in Southeast A

By Li Zhang, author of Anxious China: Inner Revolution and Politics of PsychotherapyThis guest post is part of our #AAS2021 conference series. Visit our virtual exhibit to learn more.The breathless pace of China’s economic reform has brought about deep ruptures in socioeconomic structures an

We're proud to be publishing China expert Roger Garside's China Coup: The Great Leap to Freedom in Spring 2021. This short book predicts—contrary to the prevailing consensus—that China’s leader Xi Jinping will very soon be removed from office in a coup d’état mounted by rivals in the top leaders

As a professor who has taught on Korea, Theodore Jun Yoo knew there was a need for a concise, engaging book that distilled contemporary Korea and the very different trajectories of North and South. So, he went on to write The Koreas: The Birth of Two Nations Divided, a fascinating and unique histor