My name is Uk Heo, and I am the new Editor of Asian Survey. As the new Editor, I am planning to make a few important changes in the journal.

 

Before I describe the forthcoming changes, I want to express my thanks to Lowell Dittmer, former editor of the journal, for his almost thirty years of service. Under his leadership, Asian Survey has garnered a reputation for publishing excellent scholarship on Asian countries. I would also like to thank David Famiano (journals publisher), Rachel Lee (journals manager), and David Fraser (managing editor) for their work and for a smooth transition. I am looking forward to working with them in the future.

 

Currently, Asian Survey identifies itself as the journal that offers new and original insights on prominent policy issues in the Asian region with a particular focus on qualitative scholarship.

 

However, we are going to make three modifications to the characteristics of the journal to make it a major academic outlet for both theoretical and policy debates concerning Asia. To this end, we will make the following adjustments:

 

First, we will welcome any theoretical work that is relevant to Asian states and society in addition to policy-based qualitative scholarship.

 

Second, we will open the door to studies of Asian countries and people that use quantitative analysis methods (e.g., cross-national, time-series, game theory). Given the changes in graduate education and in academic scholarship, embracing both qualitative and quantitative analysis is imperative. Furthermore, we can better understand the countries and people of Asia from studies with both qualitative and quantitative methods as they complement each other.

 

That said, we do not intend to change the audience of the journal. Instead, we would like to expand the audience by adding scholars of quantitative studies. To this end, we will require the authors of quantitative works to explain their analysis method (e.g. statistical, game theory) in a manner that people with no background in the methodologies will understand. By doing so, we will be able to enjoy the benefits of embracing a wide range of methods.

 

Finally, we will make faster response times a priority. We want to make sure that scholars submit their best work on Asia to Asian Survey without worrying about a lengthy review process. 

 

Please consider submitting your work to Asian Survey and spread the word to other scholars who might find our journal to be a good outlet for their work!

 

Thank you.

 

Sincerely,

Uk Heo, Editor, Asian Survey