Suchergebnisse

In an article in Perspectives on Global Development and Technology (PGDT), Kwangkun Lee revisits the debate on whether the semiperiphery is persistent or short-lived in the long-term historical structure. Lee concludes that semiperipheries only have a brief lifespan due to their (assumed) polarizing tendency. We provisionally agree with Lee's conclusion, but we diverge in our reasoning for upholding this hypothesis. Proponents of the World-Systems Theory claim that an intermediate group of states stabilizes the world-economy. For instance, Giovanni Arrighi posits that the semiperiphery will be persistent in the longue durée. But in our view, the rise of China will ultimately destabilize the so-called constant stratum of the semiperiphery.

AbstractChinese leaders have repeatedly insisted upon the contemporary relevance of the 'War of Resistance to Japan' (1937–1945). However, the content of the official history of the war and the lessons drawn from it have changed dramatically from 1949 through 2010. This paper begins by reviewing theories of collective remembrance and then covers four historical periods: China's 'benevolent amnesia' on Japan's wartime atrocities before 1982; China's patriotic education campaign from the mid-1980s; the rise of history activism in China in the late 1990s; and the post-2005 reversal in official rhetoric on Japan and the wartime past. It concludes that, while the party-state retains an impressive capacity to shape the narratives of critical periods of modern Chinese history, Chinese leaders are likely to find themselves increasingly constrained by domestic forces and by external events beyond their control.