ChinaTalk

China's Great Power Wars: Lessons from Imperial History for Today

Listen Later

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 one shocking truth — while medieval Europe suffered under near-constant war, East Asia’s Middle Ages were defined 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 in non-European contexts,
  • Why wars begin and how they can be avoided,
  • 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,
  • State behaviors that cannot be explained by power transition theory alone,
  • 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.

    Outro music: 荒城の月 "The Moon over the Ruined Castle" by 滝廉太郎 Rentarō Taki (Youtube link)

    Cover photo of a Song Dynasty axe-wielding god https://dragonsarmory.blogspot.com/2016/12/song-chinese-armor-in-religious.html

    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    ...more
    View all episodesView all episodes
    Download on the App Store
    ChinaTalkBy Jordan Schneider
    • 4.6
    • 4.6
    • 4.6
    • 4.6
    • 4.6

    4.6

    21 ratings

    More shows like ChinaTalk

    View all
    Odd Lots by Bloomberg

    Odd Lots

    1,993 Listeners

    Conversations with Tyler by Mercatus Center at George Mason University

    Conversations with Tyler

    2,461 Listeners

    Sinica Podcast by Kaiser Kuo

    Sinica Podcast

    603 Listeners

    ChinaPower by CSIS | Center for Strategic and International Studies

    ChinaPower

    209 Listeners

    Hidden Forces by Demetri Kofinas

    Hidden Forces

    1,448 Listeners

    The Joe Walker Podcast by Joe Walker

    The Joe Walker Podcast

    124 Listeners

    ChinaTalk by Jordan Schneider

    ChinaTalk

    291 Listeners

    GZERO World with Ian Bremmer by GZERO Media

    GZERO World with Ian Bremmer

    837 Listeners

    The Rachman Review by Financial Times

    The Rachman Review

    153 Listeners

    Pekingology by Center for Strategic and International Studies

    Pekingology

    143 Listeners

    Ones and Tooze by Foreign Policy

    Ones and Tooze

    366 Listeners

    The Foreign Affairs Interview by Foreign Affairs Magazine

    The Foreign Affairs Interview

    496 Listeners

    Unhedged by Financial Times & Pushkin Industries

    Unhedged

    194 Listeners

    Prof G Markets by Vox Media Podcast Network

    Prof G Markets

    1,480 Listeners

    The Economics Show by Financial Times

    The Economics Show

    146 Listeners