The Paul Tsai China Center, Yale Law School presents a Book Talk.
Professor Odd Arne Westad, Elihu Professor of History and Global Affairs:
“The Coming Storm.”
Join us on the Publication Day of Yale Professor Arne Westad’s 18th book, The Coming Storm, which Foreign Policy has listed as a “most anticipated book of the year.” Combining his preeminent knowledge of modern global history and a deeply informed analysis of our contemporary world with China’s rise, Westad’s new book “makes the case that the world we are entering bears striking similarities to that of the late 19th and early 20th Century, as Britain’s hegemony began to give way and a rising Germany sought its place in the sun.” (Fareed Zakaria). Particularly with China’s new power and a new multipolar world in our period, Westad argues, another Great Power war is more likely than most people believe. “This may be the most important book you read this year. The Great Power peace of the last 80 years is ending as the U.S., China, Russia and others compete for global power. Yale historian Arne Westad traces history’s lessons that may help us to prevent a future great power war.” (Nicholas Burns)
Professor Westad will present his book’s main arguments, followed by a discussion.
About The Coming Storm: This is a book about the looming threat of Great Power war and the urgent interventions necessary to avoid it.
The vast majority of people alive today have come of age in a world of remarkable stability, presided over by either one or two Superpowers. This is not to say the world has been peaceful; but it has, to a great extent, been predictable. As an increasing number of Great Powers jostle for regional supremacy, as well as competitive advantage in nuclear technology, artificial intelligence, space exploration, and trade, our world has become more fragile, unpredictable—and combustible. The outbreak of global war among today’s Great Powers seems increasingly likely.
To understand the threats that face us in this complex new terrain, we must look to the lessons of the past, and especially the late nineteenth and early twentieth century—a time when Great Powers clashed and sought regional dominance, nationalism and populism were on the rise, and many felt that globalization had failed them; a time when tariffs increased, immigration and terrorism were among the biggest issues of the day, and a growing number of people blamed the citizens of other countries for their problems. A time, in other words, that carries eerie parallels with our own.