Amitav Acharya
Amitav Acharya is the UNESCO Chair in Transnational Challenges and Governance and Distinguished Professor at the School of International Service, American University, Washington, DC. Previously, he was a professor at York University, Toronto, and University of Bristol, U.K., Fellow of Harvard University’s Asia Center, Research Fellow of Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, and Christensen Fellow at St Catherine’s College, Oxford.
His previous books include Whose Ideas Matter (Cornell 2009); The End of American World Order (Polity 2014, 2018); and Constructing Global Order (Cambridge 2018). His articles have appeared in International Organization, International Security, International Studies Quarterly, World Politics, and Foreign Affairs. Acharya is a three-time recipient of the Distinguished Scholar Award given by the International Studies Association (ISA), the largest and most influential global network in international studies. These awards recognized his “influence, intellectual works and mentorship” in the field of international organization; and “extraordinary impact” in globalizing the study of International Relations. His most recent books are: Divergent Worlds: What the Ancient Mediterranean and Indian Ocean Can Tell Us About the Future of International Order, co-author with Manjeet S. Pardesi (Yale, 2025); and The Once and Future World Order: Why Global Civilization will Survive the Decline of the West (New York: Basic Books), a 5000 years of history of world order building across multiple civilizations around the globe. Acharya has written for the New York Times, Financial Times, Washington Post, Times of India, and Australian Financial Review, among others and appeared on BBC, CNN, CGTN, and Al-Jazeera network. He has lived and worked in India, Australia, Singapore, Canada, Britain, China, South Africa, and USA.
Praise for Amitav Acharya's Books
Tragic Nation Burma: Why and How Democracy Failed (Penguin Random House 2023). “a remarkable wealth of historical sources…a highly important contribution to the literature on Myanmar’s failed democratic transition.”(Council on Foreign Relations, New York).
The Making of Global International Relations: Origins and Evolution of IR at its Centenary (Cambridge University Press, 2019): co-author with Barry Buzan. “24 Best New International Relations Books to Read in 2019”; “innovative, clear, and well-rounded” Revista Portuguesa de Ciência Política).
Constructing Global Order: Agency and Change in World Politics (Cambridge University Press, 2018). (“clear and compelling book.” Journal of Interdisciplinary History),
The End of American World Order (Polity, 2014, 2018). “a stimulating argument” - Joseph S. Nye, Harvard University, in International Affairs; a compelling vision of the post-American world” - The LSE Review of Books; “punchy, trenchant.” Human and Social Sciences Net Online.
Constructing a Security Community in Southeast Asia: ASEAN and the Problem of Regional Order, (Routledge, 2001, 2009, 2014). “a vivid and cutting edge work”- American Political Science Review; “an invaluable resource for every student of the region”- Pacific Affairs.
The Making of Southeast Asia: International Relations of a Region (Ithaca: Cornell University Press 2013, and Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 2012). "As an introduction to the region, there is no better-written or more comprehensive volume available"- Asian Affairs.
Whose Ideas Matter? Agency and Power in Asian Regionalism (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2009). Honorable Mention for Asia Society’s Bernard Schwartz Book Award for 2010.
The Quest for Identity: International Relations of Southeast Asia (Oxford University Press, 2000) “the best work on Southeast Asian regionalism available”- “wonderfully integrates history and political science… indispensable” - Journal of Asian Studies.
