The Anomalous Connection Between Athletics and Academics

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Numerous mutually reinforcing factors are combining to pushdemocracy into worldwide decline

Democracy is in a profound state of crisis, writes Joshua Kurlantzick, and is in retreat in many parts of the world. Here he outlines the implications of this worrying trend, which could include the proliferation and return of authoritarian governments. However, even in established democracies, democracy is losing favour with the middle classes which sustain it

Comparative theory, China, and the future of East Asian regionalism(s)

Despite the development of an increasingly sophisticated literature on comparative regional integration drawing from a variety of cases, the European experience remains the most often used benchmark against which other integrative processes are judged; there is still an often implicit expectation that 'successful' processes of regionalism will end up looking something like the European Union. While it is correct to move away from such a 'Euro-dominance', the theoretical lessons learned continue to have salience when applied to emerging and competing forms of integrative processes in East Asia. in particular, when economic considerations dominate regional relations at times of economic crises then integrative logics and strategies come to the fore. In more 'normal' times when geo-strategic considerations reassert themselves, then the consensus over region building and the very nature of the region itself is weakened and cooperation is replaced by competing visions and the over-supply of region

Balancing act : competition and cooperation in US Asia-Pacific regionalism

While the United States is an important Asia-Pacific actor, its engagement with the region is complex and often difficult. Not only must US regionalism balance the diverse requirements of an ambitious policy agenda, but also US policy norms and priorities often clash with those of other regional actors. This has important implications for the capacity of the United States to provide regional leadership. Recent years have seen growing policy convergence between the United States and other Asia-Pacific actors, particularly in economic terms, but US regionalism continues to feature competition alongside collaboration

The uses of foreigners in Mao-era China: ‘Techniques of Hospitality’ and international image-building in the People’s Republic, 1949-1976

This article focuses on the inner workings of Mao-era China’s ‘Foreign Affairs’ system (waishi xitong): the complex, comprehensive web of bureaucracy woven after 1949 to monitor and control Chinese contact with the outside world. It explores one of the channels along which the People’s Republic between 1949 and 1976 tried to project international, soft-power messages beyond conventional diplomatic channels: the inviting of so-called ‘foreign guests’ (waibin) on carefully planned tours around China, often with all or at least some expenses paid. Earlier accounts of this hospitality have evoked a machine of perfect control, carefully judged to manipulate visitors and rehearsed to ensure flawless performances by Chinese hosts. Using memoirs and Chinese archival documents, the article discusses the attitude of top-level leaders to such visits, the way in which trips were prepared and planned, and the successes and weaknesses of the system. It argues that the PRC’s hosting programme had a domestic as well as an international purpose. Although foreigners were the official target (and indeed, Maoist China’s ‘techniques of hospitality’ garnered some rich international political dividends) the government also used the preparation for and execution of hosting duties to underscore at home the triumph of the revolution