We are pleased to announce the publication of Asian Perspective, volume 50, number 2 (Spring 2026) published by Johns Hopkins University Press for the Institute for Far Eastern Studies of Kyungnam University and made available online at Project Muse.

The issue is highlighted by a Special Session on China in the MENA Region – Part 2. This special session examines China’s relations with the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) to address some of the problems of historical contextualization, assumptions of Chinese influence, and lack of data-driven analysis of existing studies on China’s relations with the Gulf Cooperation Council states. Articles in this issue—Part 2—include a  study on Chinese investment in Turkey that highlights the flaws in existing FDI statistics and present a new dataset showing that, despite growth, China remains a minor player in Turkey and its firms are concentrated in low-value-added sectors, which is attributed primarily to Turkey’s structural weaknesses, including low labor quality, weak scientific infrastructure, and limited bureaucratic capacity; an examination of local agency through Huawei’s investments in Turkey; a study that traces how Jordan came to exclude Huawei from its 5G modernization program—a decision reflective of Jordan’s indirect bandwagoning behavior to meet US demands without openly antagonizing China; a critique of China’s MENA policy focusing on Iran’s rising importance in China’s strategy since Washington’s pivot to Asia, but nevertheless demonstrates how Beijing has avoided a decisively pro-Iranian stance due to deeper economic ties with Israel and the GCC; and an examination of the Uyghur question in China’s relations with MENA states, arguing how the issue is framed less as an issue of ethnic or religious freedom than as a geopolitical matter shaped by each country’s ties with Beijing.

The issue includes regular submission articles that investigate the triadic deterrence and India’s and China’s counter-terrorism strategies toward Pakistan, as well as an examination of US extended deterrence for South Korea and the nonproliferation goal, suggesting Seoul’s need to contemplate alternatives including a controlled and limited proliferation. Our regular ‘Book Symposium’ features scholarly reviews and author’s response on Jeffrey Wasserstrom’s The Milk Tea Alliance: Inside Asia’s Struggle Against Autocracy and Beijing (New York: Columbia Global Reports, 2025).

All back issues of the journal (from 1977 to 2026), including past special issues, are also available at Project Muse (https://muse.jhu.edu/journal/733).

Special Session on China and the MENA Region – Part 2

The Political Economy of Chinese Investment in Turkey:  Recent Trajectory and Structural Constraints 

Burak Gürel, Kadir Selamet, Baran ?ahinli, Alperen Sen, and Deniz Tuzcu

Digital Infrastructure and Growth Coalitions:  Huawei’s Trade and Investments in Turkey

Derya Göçer and Ceren Ergenç

Navigating Great Power Competition:  Jordan’s Response to US-China 5G Rivalry

Dana Abu-Haltam

Achilles’ Heel: Self-Contradictions in the BRI’s Middle East Agendas Aggravate Limitations of the Iran-China Partnership

Sheng Zhang

The Uyghur Factor in China-Turkey Relations: Insecurity, Transnational Repression, and Legitimacy

Yalkun Uluyol

Asian Security

Triadic Deterrence and India’s and China’s Counter-terrorism Strategies/Approaches Toward Pakistan: A Comparative Analysis

Raj Verma

Doomed to Fail? US Extended Deterrence for South Korea and the US Nonproliferation Goal

Min-hyung Kim

BOOK SYMPOSIUM

Book Symposium on Jeffrey Wasserstrom. 2025. The Milk Tea Alliance: Inside Asia’s Struggle Against Autocracy and Beijing. 

New York: Columbia Global Reports.

Meredith L. Weiss

Teresa Wright

Jeffrey Wasserstrom