Zheng Wei, William’s Post

Check out the latest LOST IN HISTORY blog post

It’s so rare for those of us paying attention to China to come across good news. Since I joined the Atlantic Council’s Global China Hub a few months ago, my days have been filled with stories of nuclear proliferation, economic coercion, and dangerous tensions. These are important issues, but they don’t necessarily loosen the knot in your stomach. Ian Johnson’s new book, in many ways, is an optimistic story. Good news: there is a network of underground historians in China who, despite repeated crackdowns, are tirelessly figuring out ways to bypass censorship and share stories of China’s history that had previously been silenced. Good news: survivors of tragedies are being given the opportunity to make their voices heard. Good news: the gaps in China’s censored historical archives are being filled. The stories these historians share are heart-wrenching, but the persistence of their movement gives me some hope. Johnson starts his book with a quote from Hannah Arendt: “even in the darkest of times we have the right to expect some illumination, and that such illumination might well come less from theories and concepts than from the uncertain, flickering, and often weak light that some men and women, in their lives and their works, will kindle under almost all circumstances.” The work these historians are doing is uncertain, and (although it has survived decades of attempted suppression) Johnson doesn’t speculate as to the movement’s staying power. In my opinion, regardless of hope for the future, this work has inherent value in the present. It is contributing to a collective memory shared by people who are alive today. *Ahem* And if you’re alive today, and you don’t have any plans for your lunch break tomorrow, you register via the link below to come see Johnson speak at the Atlantic Council (or tune in online).

What is the most consequential article on American foreign policy of the last ten years? I think it's this one below, by Walter Russell Mead.

My latest article:

"This piece was originally going to be an account of right-wing cultural elites and the role they play in ossifying the (post-)fascist regimes in Hungary and Poland, using as a label for them “illiberal professional-managerial class,” or “iPMC.” "However, on October 15, Polish voters ousted the Law and Justice (PiS) government, (hopefully) ending an eight-year nightmare of bigoted chauvinism—something that, from the perspective of the brutally solidified system in Hungary, seemed not only implausible but impossible. "So, while now is a time for celebration, I would nevertheless like to discuss, with the advantage of hindsight, two stages of illiberal (cultural) hegemony-building in East-Central Europe (ECE), in order to reveal their significance in the epoch of global culture wars, alt-right counterrevolutions, and rampantly spreading (post-)fascism. Emphasizing the role of the state in the process widely known as cultural capture, as well as analyzing the nomenklatura of ECE countries through the concept of the professional-managerial class, I hope to shed light on some of the reasons behind the end of the Jarosław Kaczyński era in Poland and the interminable reign of “Orbánism.”" READ: https://lnkd.in/gu9gnBEY #politicaleconomy #poland #hungary #pmc #culturewars #farright #orbanism

A recent publication from the US Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party "Memorandum: United Front 101" is an interesting read for many reasons. The document suggests Chinese Influence Operations, Information Operations, or Psychological Operations (choose your preferred terminology) targets 12 groups, that once incorporated, are used to co-opt and influence others. In addition, the Memorandum provides recommended literature for reading.

[there are] two structural weaknesses in the logic of self-determination. First, there is little political agreement on what constitutes a distinct people or how a “nation” is defined. Second, postwar decolonization may have employed the language of peoples and self-determination. But it was not, in fact, peoples who typically gained self-determination. It was instead almost entirely territories that gained independence. Whether the territory in question contained a few or maybe dozens of distinct peoples, or whether some of those people were in fact divided among several territories, was typically ignored in favor of the felt need for stability... Self-determination, in practice, turned out to be less about self-rule and more about ending European rule. https://lnkd.in/ercHPcyQ

At close to 1,000 pages, Gary Bass' Judgment at Tokyo won't be for everyone just based on its length, but I found it totally enthralling and learned so much. Just as there were the well-known trials at Nuremburg, there were also similar trials in Tokyo. Who knew?? Read it if you are interested in: -- World War II, especially the war in Asia, and its aftermaths affecting global politics to this day (including why Japan felt like it had to attack Pearl Harbor) -- the foundations of international law and how it is applied, not always evenly -- the difference between atrocities commited by the vanquished and the use of atomic weapons by the victors -- how politics drove the Allied response to war criminals and their trials -- what is a war criminal anyway? Bass does an excellent job of taking a huge, complicated topic and presenting it in a clear, understandable way in a huge, readable book. Maybe a good one for during the holidays!

Alexander Etkind: This report identifies four historical models that have been actively circulating in the western public sphere in the past year. Analysts, opinion formers and forecasters usually pursue one chosen model while ignoring others. By contrast, this report evaluates their political implications by comparing and contrasting all four identified models. Each historical model implies a particular pace of events and scenarios for all sides of the conflict, as well as mechanisms for international engagement in conflict resolution. The Swedish Institute of International Affairs (UI)

Interesting article. Not only does it take us through the journey of the South China Morning Post, but it is also like going through history. #southchinamorningpost #scmp