Fields of interest included various aspects of bilateral relationships, comparative studies, Asian area studies from a European perspective or European studies from an Asian perspective. Issues focused on various subjects such as security historical experiences, cultural perceptions, civic rights, gender issues, regional integration, development, media or other areas of bi-regional interest. While each issue was introduced with timely topical essays by senior statesmen and politicians, for example Lee Kuan Yew (former Minister Mentor of Singapore), Dermot Ahern (former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ireland), Fidel Valdez Ramos (former President of the Philippines) and Javier Solana (former Secretary General of the Council of the European Union), the scholarly papers and book reviews were contributed by leading academics and young, ambitious authors from both regions. ASEF worked with Guest Editors and Co-Editors to support the preparation of each issue. If the Guest Editor was from Asia, the Co-Editor was from Europe. With the help of a strong international Advisory Board, articles were refereed through a “double-blind” process.
The journal was wholeheartedly committed to academic freedom. The articles did not commit ASEF, ASEM partners nor the Advisory and Editorial Board, but reflected exclusively the views of the authors. On any point of legitimate disagreement the Editor accepted comments to be published in reaction. In fact, in order to stimulate the intercontinental debate the readers were strongly encouraged to submit their views and contribute to an active and lively exchange.
Between 2003 and 2010, the Asia Europe Journal was available in digitised format to about 4,500 institutions worldwide, which included numerous universities, colleges and libraries. It was published by the publisher Springer, Heidelberg (Germany), and abstracted and indexed in ECONIS, EconLit, Expanded Academic, JEL on CD, Journal of Economic Literature, Research Papers in Economics (RePEc) and Social Science Research Network (SSRN).
In 2011, an in-depth evaluation of the journal was conducted to assess possible options for its further development. As a result of the evaluation, it was decided that ASEF would sell the journal and transfer the copyright to its long-time partner Springer. With the transfer of the AEJ to Springer in 2011, ASEF is no more responsible for the future content of the journal. From Volume 9 (2011) onwards, Springer will solely publish the journal.
This website serves as an online archive of the journal for the years 2003 and 2010. It will not be further updated. Last update on 11 June 2011.
