Bringing together nine chapters penned by experts in different Area Studies, From Empire to Federation in Eurasia investigates how empires and postimperial regimes – including the Ottoman, Russian, Habsburg, Qing/Republican Chinese, Japanese, and Siamese polities – grappled with the challenges of diversity, decentralization, and self-determination.

Paying attention to both vernacular models and external inspirations, it reframes the study of state-building beyond the Western European and North American contexts. Federalist and autonomist designs served to restructure diversity management, shifting from vertical imperial rights regimes to more horizontal arrangements, often resulting in asymmetric federalism. Although in many cases exclusionary nationalism and centralization triumphed, the diverse visions reveal alternative trajectories of (post)imperial and (post)colonial transformations.

A major contribution to the global history of concepts, institutions, and political practices, this book will appeal to scholars and students of Global and International History, Political Science, and Area Studies – including Eastern European, Eurasian, East Asian, Middle Eastern, and South Asian Studies.