Introduction

Abstract: Our symposium on Asian/American political thought (AAPT) is both the first of its kind and long overdue. In this introduction to it, the symposium's editors ask how AAPT relates to the field of political theory more generally. We answer first by situating AAPT within a broader constellation of concerns that shares various points with comparative political theory, decolonial political theory, Black political thought, and Latinx political thought. We furthermore discuss the relatively distinctive concerns of AAPT that have emerged in the course of its development and in the convening of this symposium. Our symposium consists in articles that draw from various intellectual traditions and political orientations to address several clusters of concerns: (a) how AAPT compares and creolizes "Eastern" and "Western" political thought; (b) how AAPT has and continues to think about nationality alongside revolution; and (c) how AAPT grapples with differences and contradictions internal to "Asian/America."