Brave new China?
in Modern China
February 2008; p ublished online September 2013 .
Chapter. Subjects: Contemporary History (Post 1945); Asian History; Political Geography. 445 words.
To what extent does the China envisaged a century ago resemble the China that exists now? ‘Brave new China?’ questions whether China today really is a ‘brave new world’ even though a glance...
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Economic miracles and the making of a postmodern society
in Modern Japan
April 2009; p ublished online September 2013 .
Chapter. Subjects: Contemporary History (Post 1945); Asian History; Political Geography. 9600 words.
‘Economic miracles and the making of a postmodern society’ is concerned with the end of World War II, Allied occupation and Japan's rapid economic growth in the postwar period. Occupation...
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Imperial revolution: embracing modernity
in Modern Japan
April 2009; p ublished online September 2013 .
Chapter. Subjects: Contemporary History (Post 1945); Asian History; Political Geography. 5844 words.
‘Imperial revolution: embracing modernity’ shows how Japan endeavoured to transform itself into a modern, imperial nation in the second half of the 19th century. Japan needed to modernize...
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Introduction: what's modern about modern Japan?
in Modern Japan
April 2009; p ublished online September 2013 .
Chapter. Subjects: Contemporary History (Post 1945); Asian History; Political Geography. 3179 words.
The ‘Introduction‘ considers the meaning of modernity and the way that Japan has engaged with it. Modernity was not just something that happened to Japan; instead Japan had to forge itself...
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Is China’s economy modern?
in Modern China
February 2008; p ublished online September 2013 .
Chapter. Subjects: Contemporary History (Post 1945); Asian History; Political Geography. 4673 words.
Much is written about the amazing growth of China's economy in recent decades. It has been growing by 10% per year, which is one of the highest sustained rates of wealth creation in world...
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Is Chinese culture modern?
in Modern China
February 2008; p ublished online September 2013 .
Chapter. Subjects: Contemporary History (Post 1945); Asian History; Political Geography. 6024 words.
The idea that China's culture is tied up with its place in the modern world has persisted since the Opium Wars. Chinese culture is highly valued around the world in terms of literature,...
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Is Chinese society modern?
in Modern China
February 2008; p ublished online September 2013 .
Chapter. Subjects: Contemporary History (Post 1945); Asian History; Political Geography. 8557 words.
Equality is a modern goal of all sorts of societies, both dictatorships and democracies. Chinese society has changed profoundly in many ways in recent decades. ‘Is Chinese society modern?’...
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Japan's encounter with the modern world
in Modern Japan
April 2009; p ublished online September 2013 .
Chapter. Subjects: Contemporary History (Post 1945); Asian History; Political Geography. 8680 words.
‘Japan's encounter with the modern world’ tackles Japan's simultaneous encounter with the Western world, and with modern ideas and social forces. The arrival of Commodore Perry meant the...
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Making China modern
in Modern China
February 2008; p ublished online September 2013 .
Chapter. Subjects: Contemporary History (Post 1945); Asian History; Political Geography. 9304 words.
Chinese 20th-century politics appears as a story of constant conflict. The clash between the Nationalists under Chiang Kaishek and the Communists under Mao Zedong lasted for decades....
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Modern China
February 2008; p ublished online September 2013 .
Book. Subjects: Contemporary History (Post 1945); Asian History; Political Geography. 168 pages.
Modern China: A Very Short Introduction offers a variety of ways to understand the world's most populous nation, giving a short, integrated picture of modern Chinese society, culture,...
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Modern Japan
April 2009; p ublished online September 2013 .
Book. Subjects: Contemporary History (Post 1945); Asian History; Political Geography. 176 pages.
Modern Japan: A Very Short Introduction aims to explode the myths and explore the reality of modern Japan by considering its history, economy, politics, and culture. Japan is arguably...
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The old order and the new
in Modern China
February 2008; p ublished online September 2013 .
Chapter. Subjects: Contemporary History (Post 1945); Asian History; Political Geography. 6655 words.
The Chinese past is often viewed as a corrupt, ‘feudal’ chaos held back by Confucian thought. However, the imperial Chinese state was also driven by a system of mutual obligation which...
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Overcoming and overcome by modernity: Japan at war
in Modern Japan
April 2009; p ublished online September 2013 .
Chapter. Subjects: Contemporary History (Post 1945); Asian History; Political Geography. 7675 words.
‘Overcoming and overcome by modernity: Japan at war’ charts Japan's early-20th-century emergence as a great imperial power in Asia. Radical chauvinism was one response to modernity. The...
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Overcoming denial: contemporary Japan's quest for normalcy
in Modern Japan
April 2009; p ublished online September 2013 .
Chapter. Subjects: Contemporary History (Post 1945); Asian History; Political Geography. 4252 words.
‘Overcoming denial: contemporary Japan's quest for normalcy’ discusses Japan's identity and role in the post-Cold War world and focuses on the question of Japan's capacity and will to...
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What is modern China?
in Modern China
February 2008; p ublished online September 2013 .
Chapter. Subjects: Contemporary History (Post 1945); Asian History; Political Geography. 4630 words.
China is the world's most populous country with a rapidly growing economy, an expanding political presence, and at the beginning of the 21st century, 1.3 billion people lived there. ‘What...
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