Asia

Classical Chinese Thought and Culture and Early Chinese HistoryVictor Mair, professor of Chinese language and literature at the University of Pennsylvania, noted that China’s great social variety has always made it hard to keep the country together, necessitating heavy-handed...

Perhaps the phrase that best characterizes the Maoist era is “never forget class struggle.” By contrast, the mantra that the Communist Party has endorsed most recently, “harmonious society,” is distinctly unMaoist, even somewhat Confucian: It is a long way...

Although scientist Jared Diamond famously called China an “empire of uniformity,” in fact nothing could be further from the truth. China is one of the most diverse nations on earth. Linguistically, ethnically, religiously—on virtually any basis, China has always...

China’s economy today is ten times larger than it was in 1978, and continues to grow at 10 percent per year. By contrast, since 1980, roughly the beginning of economic reform in China, up until 2005 yearend, the economy...

China has had many foreign policies since the founding of the PRC in 1949. For its first five years, the PRC followed a “lean to one side” policy. As explained by Chairman Mao Zedong, this meant that “whoever is...

Chinese President and Communist Party chief Hu Jintao’s recent African sojourn reveals both China’s newfound global clout and the persisting limits to the PRC’s stature as an aspiring great power, especially outside its region. CHINA’S ECONOMIC LEVERAGE Hu’s February...

The international law of free trade areas/agreements (FTAs) reflects a simple liberal logic of international economic relations. The pursuit of FTAs, however, often falls short of these legal and economic ideals and reflects more complex political calculations. This is...

In March 2006, FPRI’s Asia Program held a conference on “Constitutional Change and Foreign Policy in East Asia.” Panels focused on Japan’s contemplated revisions to its “pacifist” constitution; China’s much-amended constitution, the increasing discourse there about constitutionalism, and its...

Fifty years ago, when I began teaching American students about India, I would probably have begun a lecture on why it’s important for Americans to know about India rather defensively and apologetically. Acknowledging the lack of interest at that...

Why It’s Important to Know about India Ainslie T. Embree of Columbia University noted India’s recent rise in U.S. headlines, especially with the joint statement issued after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s summer 2005 visit to Washington. The statement, pledging...