Professor Liu Hong Elected President of the Asian Association of World Historians (AAWH)

On 25-26 October 2025, the Sixth Asian Association of World Historians (AAWH) International Conference took place at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies in Doha, Qatar, under the theme “The Gulf and the Globe.” Over one hundred scholars from Asia, Europe, the United States, and the Arab region participated in the two-day conference.

During the meeting, the AAWH Council elected Professor Liu Hong, Tan Lark Sye Chair Professor of Public Policy and Global Affairs at Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore, as its fifth President, succeeding Professor Sucheta Mahajan, from Jawaharlal Nehru University in India.

(From left to right) Professor Shigeru Akita (Osaka University), 3rd President of AAWH; Professor Ahmed Abushouk (Qatar University), Founding Board Member; Professor Liu Hong (NTU Singapore); Mr. Yoshimine (Nihon University High School, Sapporo, Hokkaido); and Professor Sucheta Mahajan (Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India), 4th President of AAWH.

Founded in 2008, the AAWH is one of the most influential academic organisations in the field of global history within the Asia-Pacific region. It focuses on modern Asian history and contemporary developments in Asian societies and international relations, with a particular emphasis on the connections and networks among different parts of Asian regions.

The conference serves as an important platform, bringing together leading academics and researchers from various universities and research institutions worldwide to discuss historical transformations on the Asian continent. This year’s conference focused especially on the Arabian Gulf region's historical, cultural, and economic relations within a global context. The event continues the legacy of previous AAWH conferences held in Osaka (2009), Seoul (2012), Singapore (2015), Osaka (2018), and New Delhi (2022).

In response to a lack of relevant platforms before the AAWH’s inception, scholars from seven countries, including China, Japan, South Korea, the United States, and Qatar, gathered in Tianjin in May 2008 to establish this new society and signed its constitution.

Every three years, the AAWH organises a large-scale international academic conference, providing a platform for scholars in world history and regional studies to exchange research findings in person and develop collaborative networks and projects.

In 2013, AAWH published the international journal "Asian Review of World History", which features original scholarly articles and book reviews, fostering interdisciplinary dialogue and promoting research, teaching, and academic exchange in world history across the Asia-Pacific region. The journal is listed in the Web of Science ESCI (Emerging Sources Citation Index). 

During his tenure as the Chair of the School of Humanities and Social Science at NTU Singapore, Professor Liu Hong, who served as AAWH Vice-President hosted the third International conference in 2015 under the theme "Migration in Global History”. The event attracted more than 170 scholars from 25 countries and featured keynote speeches by distinguished historians, including Professor Wang Gungwu from the National University of Singapore, Professor Masashi Haneda, the then Vice President of the University of Tokyo in Japan, and Professor Patrick Manning from the University of Pittsburgh who is also the former president of the American Historical Association.

Professor Liu’s election as President of AAWH is a recognition of  his significant contributions to scholarship and academic leadership. For the sixth consecutive year, Professor Liu Hong has been recognised among the world’s top 2% of scientists. His achievements are a testament to his sustained global impact and enduring contributions to research on governance, transnational networks, and Global Asia.

The Doha conference featured four keynote speeches and thirteen parallel academic sessions covering various topics such as the Gulf region’s role in globalisation, technological change in world history, Asia-Pacific regional integration,  and comparative models of Asian economic development. Participants from multiple regions engaged in robust discussions about the future of world-historical scholarship in Asia.

In his acceptance speech, Professor Liu reflected on the Association’s two decades of progress, expressed his gratitude to previous Presidents and Council members, and outlined his vision for the next phase of growth, strengthening the links between regional and global Asian studies, enhancing connections with Chinese and international counterparts, and promoting inclusive trans-regional scholarship throughout the Asia-Pacific.

To further advance the Association’s development, Professor Liu appointed Dr Zhang Huimei, Senior Research Fellow at NCPA, as the Council’s new Secretary-General.