Mini-Conference on Asian Political History

In recent years the discipline of political science has witnessed a renaissance in the study of history. While methodologically and theoretically eclectic, these historical works share a commitment to using the best tools of social science to understand the most important phenomena in world history, and to systematically tracing the lasting legacies of historical events on contemporary politics. In the study of Asia, this literature has been largely divided between scholars of China and analysts of the many diverse political systems in China’s immediate neighborhood. This mini-conference draws on the spirit of this recent historical renaissance to bring together political scientists applying a wide array of methodological tools and theoretical perspectives to Asian cases such as Burma, China, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam, as well as scholars who explicitly juxtapose Asian political history with European history, and who position Asian political history squarely within wider global history. The five assembled panels will explore and pivot around broad themes of 1) legacies of violence in 20th-century Asia, 2) political revolutions and nation-state formation, 3) state capacity through the lenses of bureaucracy and education, 4) the divergent dynamics of ancient and modern wars, and 5) cross-regional and global perspectives.

Organizers: Ji Yeon (Jean) Hong (University of Michigan), Xiaobo Lü (University of Texas-Austin), Dan Slater (University of Michigan), and Yuhua Wang (Harvard University)