Global Politics

History is the best textbook’ is one of the favourite phrases of China’s President Xi Jinping, yet only one version of history is acceptable in today's China. Since 2012, the ruling Communist party has made radical efforts to tighten its control over history, even bringing lawsuits against those seen guilty of ‘historical nihilism’.

The streets around Tiananmen Square were not the only place that experienced a bloody suppression in 1989, and since that time efforts to control historical memory have become more apparent. The state has made clear their desire to rewrite history, and within China they've been successful.

Louisa Lim is a Senior Lecturer of Audio-Visual Journalism at the University of Melbourne, and an award-winning journalist who reported from China for a decade for the NPR and BBC. She is the author of The People's Republic of Amnesia: Tiananmen Revisited (Oxford University Press) and co-host of the Little Red Podcast.

For the past 15 years western democracies have appeared to reach a crisis point. Cynicism towards political institutions is widespread, with results in the UK and the United States the most visible manifestation of this trend. In contrast, the Chinese Communist Party has overseen the greatest advancement in human development history, and maintained social stability and cohesion at the same time. Is there something structurally wrong with liberal democracy, and does China have a better model for managing politics in the 21st century? Guest: Professor Daniel Bell (Dean, School of Political Science and Public Administration, Shandong University)

Modern India stands on the threshold of becoming a global power. As it seeks to revitalise its economy and improve the health and education prospects of its citizens, improve its fractious relations with China and Pakistan and make its mark on the global stage, the key to understanding its future lies in understanding its leader. Prime Minister, Narendra Modi is a controversial figure in his own country and abroad. He has garnered unprecedented political support while facing criticism for his nationalism, his record in government and his economic policies. With his leadership India has enormous potential and equally vast challenges. Adam Roberts, journalist for the Economist (between 2010 and 2015 was its South Asia bureau chief) and author of Superfast Primetime Ultimate Nation, which draws on years of on-the-ground research, and interviews with everyone from wayside fortune-tellers to Modi himself, will be in conversation with Professor Nick Bisley, Executive Director of La Trobe Asia. A La Trobe Asia event in partnership with Griffith Asia Institute.

Much of migration to Melbourne is studied in a post-war context dominated by Greeks and Italians fleeing a post-war Europe, but it undoubtedly goes back much further. Asian migrants played a notable part in the city’s growth, and these people bought new languages and culture with them. Guest: Dr Nadia Rhook ( Archaeology and History, La Trobe University)

Recent years have witnessed mingled alarm and envy in the West at the supposed excellence of China's education system - epitomized by Shanghai's PISA success. But much public discussion of the context for that success, and of the nature of the education system that has produced it, remains worryingly superficial. Drawing on a new monograph, Education and Society in Post-Mao China (Routledge 2017), this talk re-examines the educational record of China during the four decades of 'Reform and Opening'. It argues that evaluation of this record depends very much on the evaluator's comparative perspective and ethical assumptions. Notwithstanding its impressive performance on many counts, education in Post-Mao China has played a key role in fostering radical social stratification - a role that is not accidental, but intrinsic to the system's design. Edward Vickers is a Professor of Comparative Education at Kyushu University. His research focuses on the contemporary history of education in Chinese societies (mainland China, Taiwan and Hong Kong), with a particular focus on the role of schools and other public institutions in political socialization.

China’s political and economic growth in the past three decades has been rapid and impressive, and central to this transformation has been the role of the Chinese communist Party. It controls the government, courts, media and military, and its decisions have a global impact. Guest: Richard McGregor, journalist and author of ‘The Party: The Secret World of China’s Communist Rulers’.

A North Korean threat is a reality Asia has had to deal with for some time, but now that they have nuclear weapons that can reach the United States mainland the stakes of changed. Tensions on the Korean peninsula remain high, and two unpredictable and strong-willed leaders, Kim Jong-Un and Donald Trump, could escalate the situation quickly. Guests: Professor Nick Bisley (Executive Director, La Trobe Asia) Dr Benjamin Habib (Lecturer, International Relations, La Trobe University)

The Philippines’ maverick president, Rodrigo Duterte, has had a turbulent first year in office. His crime fighting agenda, popular with the middle class during the election, has delivered a bloody and devastating war on drugs with crowded prisons and thousands killed in the streets. Internal conflict with Islamic State-backed groups has led to martial law on the island of Mindanao and threats of civil war. With five years left in his term of presidency, what can the Philippines and the world expect from Duterte? In this discussion two experts give their assessment of how Duterte has fared in his first year. Dr Nicole Curato (ARC Discovery Early Career Research Fellow in the Centre for Deliberative Democracy and Global Governance at the University of Canberra.) Professor Nick Bisley (Executive Director of La Trobe Asia and Professor of International Relations at La Trobe University.) A live event presented by La Trobe Asia in partnership with the Philippines Australia Studies Centre on 16th August, 2017.

Japan has a challenging future. Its population is declining, the economy remains anaemic while the country’s security environment is extremely challenging. North Korea presents an existential threat, and China’s growing military power threatens the country’s long-term interests. Even though it is an affluent country the restrictive constitution forced on it after World War II places limitations on Japan’s military and makes it dependent on its ally, the United States. Murray McLean (Former Australian Ambassador to Japan (2004-2011)) speaks to Professor Nick Bisley (Executive Director, La Trobe Asia) about the impact a more strategically influential Japan could have on Asia and the world. Follow Nick Bisley on Twitter: @NickBisley Follow La Trobe Asia on Twitter: @latrobeasia

For more than half a century, American power in the Pacific has successfully kept the peace. But it has also cemented the tensions in the toxic rivalry between China and Japan, consumed with endless history wars and entrenched political dynasties. Now, the combination of these forces with Donald Trump's unpredictable impulses and disdain for America's old alliances threatens to upend the region, and accelerate the unravelling of the postwar order. If the United States helped lay the postwar foundations for modern Asia, now the anchor of the global economy, that structure is now crumbling. This seminar examines the tectonic shifts in diplomacy, domestic political trends, and the personalities driving them. Richard McGregor is a journalist and an author with extensive experience in reporting from East Asia and Washington. He worked for The Australian in Tokyo and Hong Kong and established the paper's first China bureau in Beijing in 1997. He later headed the Financial Times bureaux in Shanghai, Beijing and Washington. He is the author of The Party, looking at political leadership in China, and a forthcoming book, Asia's Reckoning: China, Japan, the US and the Struggle for Global Power will be published in September 2017. A La Trobe Asia seminar recorded on 1st August, 2017.