Research and teaching has revolved around the issue of complex change and this has been pursued in the areas of development theory, comparative politics of East Asia and the political culture of Britain.
Preston, P. (2010) National Pasts in Europe and East Asia, London, Routledge Curzon
Preston, P. (2009) Arguments and Actions in Social Theory, London, Palgrave
Preston, P. (2007) Singapore in the Global System: Relationship, Structure and Change, London, Routledge Curzon
Preston, P. (2004) Relocating England: Englishness in the New Europe, Manchester University Press
Preston, P. (2000) Understanding Modern Japan: A Political Economy of Development, Culture and Global Power, London, Sage
Preston, P. (1998) Pacific Asia in the Global System, Oxford, Blackwel