Lessons from Imperial History for Today
JORDAN SCHNEIDER, ILARI MÄKELÄ, AND LILY OTTINGER
CHINA TALK, FEB 13
How has Chinese hegemony shaped power relations in East Asia? Why did imperial China conquer Tibet and Xinjiang but not Vietnam or Korea? Can learning from history help maintain peace in the Taiwan Strait?
Today’s interview begins with a striking observation — while medieval Europe suffered under near-constant war, East Asia were defined more by great power peace.
To discuss, ChinaTalk interviewed Professor David C. Kang, director of the Korean Studies Institute at USC and co-author of Beyond Power Transitions:The Lessons of East Asian History and the Future of U.S.-China Relations.
We discuss…
· How East Asian nations managed to peacefully coexist for centuries,
· Why lessons from European history don’t always apply,
· How to interpret outbreaks of violence in Asia — including conflicts with the Mongols, China’s meddling in Vietnam, and Japan’s early attempts at empire,
· Whether the Thucydides trap makes U.S.-China war inevitable,
· Old school methods for managing cross-strait relations.
Co-hosting today is Ilari Mäkelä of the On Humans podcast.
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