"In this refreshing book, Alexander Bukh marshals an impressive range of evidence and marries it to a theoretically nuanced approach to say something new and original. These Islands Are Ours will appeal to a wide audience that wishes to understand the micro-level processes by which the competing narratives and identities around these disputes are constructed."—Hugo Dobson, University of Sheffield

"In this valuable contribution to our understanding of territorial disputes in Asia, Alexander Bukh does an admirable job of drawing attention to the internal dynamics in Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan. This book will be of interest to IR and Asia specialists seeking to understand how 'national identity entrepreneurs' in domestic politics shape societal narratives of territorial disputes, and how also the shifting patterns of their entrepreneurship can be consequential in taking on and eliciting responses from the state in times of deep flux and beyond."—Saadia M. Pekkanen, University of Washington

"Bukh creatively employs a constructivist perspective....He excellently demonstrates how critical junctures and post–WW II reforms enabled greater civic action focused on the injustice of the loss of territory. Highly recommended."—C. W. Herrick, CHOICE

"Bukh's layering of evidence—whether newspaper articles, interviews, or other media—supports a 'thick description' of the shifting but ultimately meaningful construction of national narratives about identity and territory in Northeast Asia. It is a valuable contribution to the study of international relations in Asia, especially for showing how narratives about territorial disputes are semiotically deployed, interpreted, and transformed."—Ian Parker, Pacific Affairs

"For students with an interest in exploring new methods in East Asian area studies, These Islands is an example of interpretive research that cites a rich tapestry of sources, such as pamphlets, prefectural and government reports, petitions, newspapers, educational material, postcards, advertisements, and stamps... The book makes a valuable contribution to East Asian international relations."—Nidhi Prasad, Journal of Asian Studies

"These Islands Are Ours is an important contribution to both the literature on territoriality and territorial conflict and our understanding of Northeast Asian Territorial disputes...It is [the] interaction of domestic and international politics—those two- (or three-) level games—that scholars of territoriality should turn to next. These Islands Are Ours leads the way."—Boaz Atzili, Political Science Quarterly

Alexander Bukh is Senior Lecturer in International Relations at Victoria University of Wellington. He is the author of Japan's Identity and Foreign Policy: Russia as Japan's 'Other' (2009) and the producer and co-director of the documentary This Island Is Ours: Defending Dokdo/Retrieving Takeshima (2016).