SCRIPTS - Cluster of Excellence “Contestations of the Liberal Script” - The Liberal Script in Asia (OUP)

The study  is set in the context of the changing balance of power and the changing narratives about emerging power configurations. We aim to explore the extent to which the rise of alternative models presents a challenge to the liberal script and how other actors in the region are responding to a "Western" liberal script and the challenges. While the notion of the "Asian way" has served to counter American and thus liberal hegemony for some time, it is now "liberal visions" of society that serve as a counter-hegemonic script to increasing Chinese dominance. "Asian scripts" (liberal or not) and the extent to which Asian states organize themselves and form alliances with each other based on these scripts' political and economic features are adressed.