Glossary
This glossary compiles key concepts, theories, and paradigms coined by Yuen Yuen Ang across her research and writing. It serves as a reference for scholars, students, and readers seeking clear and accurate interpretations of her contributions to global transformation, political economy, development, US-China, and China studies. Each entry defines a term, situates it within Ang’s intellectual forest of AIM (Adaptive + Inclusive + Moral) Political Economy, and provides links to original publications and further reading.
World Order After 2025
Yuen Yuen Ang interprets the World Order After 2025 not as polycrisis or great-power dominance, but as polytunity—a generational opening for deep transformation of global institutions and thought within a multipolar context.
Fairy Tales of Western Development (Political Economy)
Fairy Tales of Western Development challenges idealized, selective narratives in mainstream political economy that attributes Western development solely to democracy and “good” institutions while erasing extractive factors.
Adaptive Fiscal Capacity
Adaptive Fiscal Capacity refers to the ability of a government to generate, manage, and adapt its portfolio of financial resources—tax and taxless alike—in response to evolving conditions.
Polytunity
Polytunity reframes the current era of global disruption as a generational opening for deep, constructive transformation, in contrast to the fear-driven, Eurocentric framing of polycrisis.
Paradigm
Paradigm refers to a system of thought based on certain core assumptions about the nature of humans or societies.
Model
In the non-statistical sense, a model means a stylized description that removes extraneous details and distills the core patterns of a real-world phenomenon.
Theory
A theory explains a problem, paired with evidence or a method for demonstrating the answer. A theory should not be based simply on assertions (otherwise, it is an opinion).
APE: Adaptive Political Economy
Adaptive Political Economy (APE) studies political economies as complex adaptive systems, rather than as static machines. Instead of assuming away the inherently complex qualities of political economies, APE designs theories and methods to illuminate them. APE forms one of the three pillars of Yuen Yuen Ang’s broader paradigm - AIM (Adaptive, Inclusive & Moral) Political Economy.
Concepts
A concept is a coined phrase to help you grasp the defining characteristics of an important issue, in contrast to other concepts. Think of concepts as the building blocks of thought. Everyday, we rely on countless concepts we’ve internalized to navigate the world.
AIM: Adaptive, Inclusive & Moral Political Economy
AIM redefines core assumptions of political economy for a disrupted, multipolar world, replacing the industrial–colonial worldview with a systems-based, pluralistic, and reflexive approach.
Category
Categories (or typology) are a related set of concepts that help you notice and explain important differences.
In China’s Gilded Age (book) and Unbundling Corruption (article), Ang introduce a four-part typology of corruption: petty theft, grand theft, speed money, access money. This typology helps us distinguish among the four types of corruption and their effects.