Emanuel has written extensively on the history, thought and literature of Korea, China and Japan. Most of his work has concerned the intellectual, cultural and political relations between Korea, China and Japan from the seventeenth century through the twentieth century. Emanuel's forthcoming book focuses on the reception of Chinese vernacular narrative in Korea and Japan. More recently, he has written on globalization and social change, the internet, Taiwan Straits issues, Chinese-American relations, and North Korea. Emanuel has made an effort to interpret recent developments in Asia in light of precedents from the early modern and pre-modern period.