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Back in 1974 I took my B.A in International Relations (School of African & Asian Studies) at Sussex University. It looked at how International Politics functions in the World/Asia, and the way in which it can be crucially affected by History, and Comparative Religion. My interests lie there.

Later I pursued in a MA in Religious Studies at the University of Lancaster in 1979, which had a deliberate emphasis on Oriental religions and the role of religion in social change. In turn a Ph.D. was gained from Lancaster in 1983, a wide-ranging religious-political study of the interactions in Central Asia (Bactria) of religious traditions from East and West, from the coming of Alexander the Great to the establishment of Islam.

Ph.D and teaching qualifications (PGCE) led to varied Higher Education (e.g. Open University) work in Asian History, and Religious Studies. Some Open University work in History led to joining Brunel full-time in 1992. At first this was on the Religious Studies programme run by the WLIHE, especially Asian religions and Inter-faith issues; but then after 2000 on the History programme, focusing on Asian history and East-West encounters. During that time the 'Clash of Civilisations' thesis burst into the academic world, and into real politics. My current involvement in the International Politics area has brought this full circle with a focus on 'Modern South Asia' (u/g level-2), 'Asia-Pacific International Relations' (u/g level-3) and 'China in the World' (MA level), teaching entwined with research and varied publications.

My involvement on the Brunel-Shanghai Europe-China Research Project (2004-2005) brought China's interaction with the West to the fore, a theme set to run for the coming years (and for this century?); as did my particpation in the The International Politics of EU-China Relations conference (2006) held at the British academy, which brought out my paper 'The EU-China "strategic dialogue": pathways in the international system'.

Consequently, my current research projects include 2 books, (1) 'China Stands Up'. The People's Republic of China and the Modern International System, accepted for publication by Routledge; and (2) China and the International System: Power, Presence and Perceptions in a 'Century of Humiliation', accepted for publication by State University of New York Press. Research projects also includes further work on various East-West/Asia-Pacific IR topics, namely (a) China and the EU, (b) Images of and from China, (c) China and India, (d) Japan and the International System (e) 'Clash of Civilisations' thesis

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