Profile: I joined the University of Manchester in 2007, after spending two years at the Centre of International Studies, University of Cambridge, where I was a Mellon Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow. My original academic background is in Chinese Studies, having studied Chinese language and history at the University of Leeds. I then completed my Ph.D. in Political Science and International Relations at the Australian National University in 2005.

Career highlights: Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, University of Copenhagen, 2012-13; Visiting Associate Professor, Copenhagen Business School, 2010; British Academy Exchange Fellow, Academia Sinica, Taiwan, 2009; External Associate, Centre for the Study of Globalisation and Regionalisation, University of Warwick, 2009; Postdoctoral Fellow, John Sloan Dickey Centre for International Understanding, Dartmouth University, USA, 2007 (declined); Member of Royal United Services Institute delegation to Taiwan, 2007; Lecturer, Department of Political Studies University of Auckland, New Zealand, 2005; Visiting fellow, Peking University, China 2002, 2007; Visiting research associate, Tokyo University, Japan, 2002-3.

Languages: Japanese (native), Mandarin Chinese (fluent), French (intermediate)

International Relations theory with reference to East Asia, Sino-Japanese relations, Chinese foreign policy, Japanese foreign policy, Sino-Japanese reconciliation

Selected Publications

• 'Explaining Japan's Response fo Geopolitical Vulnerability', International Affairs, vol. 94, no. 4, 2018, pp. 711-734
• ‘The rise of the Chinese ‘Other’ in Japan's construction of identity: Is China a focal point of Japanese nationalism? ’, The Pacific Review, vol. 28, no. 1, 2014, pp. 95-116
• ‘Journey to the West: China Debates its “Great Power” Identity’, Millennium, vol. 42, no. 3, pp. 632-650
• Why do we need “Myth-Busting” in the Study of Sino-African Relations?’, Journal of Contemporary China, vol. 23, no. 87, 2014, pp. 443-461 (co-authored with Miwa Hirono)
• 'The Competition to Attain Justice for Past Wrongs: The "Comfort Women" Issue in Taiwan',Pacific Affairs, vol. 84, no. 2, pp. 223-244
• 'Why does China participate in intrusive peacekeeping? Understanding paternalistic Chinese discourses on Development and Intervention',International Peacekeeping, vol. 18, no. 3, 2011, pp. 271-285.
• Civilization and Empire: China and Japan's Encounter with European International Society. London: Routledge, 2009 (paperback edition forthcoming April 2011)
• 'Chinese soft power, insecurity studies, myopia and fantasy', Third World Quarterly, vol. 30, no. 4, 2009, pp. 779-793
• 'Seeking "legitimate" great power status in post-Cold War International Society: China and Japan's participation in UNPKO', International Relations, vol. 22, no. 1, 2008, pp. 45-63
• 'Can apology serve as a security policy? Responsible scholarship and breaking the chains of negative history in Sino-Japanese relations', Korean Journal of Defense Analysis, vol. 20, no. 4, 2008, pp. 309-324
• 'The importance of "Othering" in China's national identity: Sino-Japanese relations as a stage of identity conflicts', The Pacific Review, vol. 20, no. 1, 2007, pp. 23-47
• 'Japan's socialization into Janus-faced European International Society', European Journal of International Relations, vol. 11, no. 1, 2005, pp. 137-164
• 'China's perceptions of International Society in the nineteenth century: learning more about power politics?', Asian Perspective, vol. 28, no. 3, 2004, pp. 115-144

Teaching: My teaching areas include international relations, security studies, Chinese foreign policy, Chinese domestic policy. I currently teach, or have taught the following courses:

• POLI71062 China in the International System
• POLI70022 Elite Interviews
• POLI20612 Chinese Politics Today
• POLI10200 Introduction to Comparative Politics
• POLI31011War Memory and Reconciliation in East Asia
• POLI21041 Asia-Pacific Security
• Security Studies

Teaching Ethos: Learning and scholarship should be fun in an intellectual sense. I believe that university education should not just be about simply ‘studying’ educational materials given out by teachers. Instead, it should be a place where students improve each other intellectually, by actively researching and learning about the various topics in the course, and debating their findings with other students. To this end, I try to make my courses as interactive as possible. I also expect students to recognise that they have a responsibility to contribute to the intellectual development of their peers, and need play a substantive role in providing a lively learning environment.

Media: I have provided media commentary on Chinese foreign politics, Sino-Japanese relations and Japanese politics to The Guardian, Berlingske (Denmark), Weekendavisen, DR (Danish Broadcasting Corporation), Bloomberg, and The Diplomat.

Knowledge Transfer: I am interested in how my research expertise can be used for more practical ways to benefit society generally. To date, my activities to this end have focused on presentations to the policy community and teaching in continuing education.

• Presentation at the Royal College of Defence Studies
• Presentation at the Royal Naval College of Denmark
• Presentation at the Ministry of Defence, Denmark
• Presentation on Sino-Japanese relations at the Wilton Park conference on 'Japan: Increasing its Global Future Role?'. Conference organised in association with the Japan Foundation, The GB-Sasakawa Foundation  and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), 1-4 November 2010.
• Presentation on Chinese approaches to peacekeeping at FCO/Chevening Course, 3 February 2010.
• Guest lectures on Asia-Pacific security on military courses provided by the Institute of Continuing Education, University of Cambridge (various years)
• Organised and taught course on Asia-Pacific Security for Institute of Continuing Education, University of Cambridge, 2-4 April, 2007.
• Presentation on MOD Course 'Politics and Security in the Post Communist World’ Course,, 22 May 2012
• Presentation at the Royal Danish Naval Academy, Copenhagen, Denmark, 22 November 2012
• Presentation on MOD Course, 'Postconflict Reconstruction and Stabilisation', 22 February 2013