A succinct new history of a century-long struggle to define Asian identity and express alternative forms of European essentialism. The balance of global power changed profoundly during the 20th century, primarily with the economic and political rise of Asia. Asia after Europe offers a bold new interpretation of the period, focusing on the conflicting and overlapping ways Asians have conceived their ties and roles in the world. By tracing the circulation of ideas and people across colonial and national borders, Sugata Bose explores developments in Asian thought, art, and politics that countered Euro-American models and defined Asia as a place of solidarity for all humanity.

Impressive in scope, yet guided by the stories of fascinating and influential individuals, Asia after Europe examines the early signs of Asian solidarity and globalization before Japan's victory over Russia in 1905. It illustrates the revolutionary collaborations of World War I and the subsequent period, when Asian globalization was forming alongside Wilsonian internationalism and Bolshevism. The impact of the Great Depression and World War II on the idea of Asia is examined, as well as the persistence of forms of Asian globalization during the postwar era, despite the consolidation of postcolonial nations modeled on Europe.

Various Asian globalizations were created and fractured through phases of poverty and prosperity, among elites and the general populace, throughout the 20th century. Noting the endurance of nationalistic rivalries, often linked to religious exclusion and violence, Bose concludes with reflections on the continuing possibility of political thought beyond European definitions of reason, the nation, and identity.