1. A dynamic theory of world politics; 2. The dynamics of international politics in Ancient China; 3. Rethinking the dynamics of international politics in early modern Europe; 4. The dynamics of state formation and transformation; 5. Conclusion and implications.
This book, first published in 2005, explores why China and Europe's development of state systems began similarly but experienced opposite outcomes.
Victoria Hui is a visiting Assistant Professor in Political Science at the University of Notre Dame. She holds an Assistant Professor in Political Science position at the University of Illinois. She received a PhD from Columbia University and has received fellowships from the Olin Institute at Harvard University, the Center for International Security and Cooperation at Stanford University, the Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation, and the Institute for the Study of World Politics.
'Victoria Hui is perhaps the only person in the international
relations field capable of writing such a sophisticated comparative
history of the Chinese and European state systems. This book is
pioneering in its efforts to 'bring Asia in' to the study of
macro-historical change in world politics. She demonstrates expert
command of Chinese and European sources, international relations
theory, and social science research design. The result is a
provocative argument about the importance of strategic amorality,
ruthlessness, and resource mobilization in state building, and
about why ancient Chinese states outperformed European states in
these areas.' Alastair Iain Johnston, Harvard University
'Victoria Hui has successfully executed a stunningly bold
macro-historical comparison, while bringing to light the workings
of a fascinating international system. Scholarship on state making
and system transformation in ancient China and modern Europe – and,
indeed, in other international systems, past, present, and future –
must contend with her arguments and evidence.' William Wohlforth,
Dartmouth College
'Dr Hui offers us a challenging reinterpretation of modern European
history by a bold and original comparison with the period of state
formation in China. In doing so, she challenges some dominant
theories both in the theory of state formation and in international
relations theory. The boldness of the method will provoke
controversy, but nothing could be more valuable, for both
historians and political scientists, than to understand European
history in comparative perspective. This unusual work will be of
great interest, not only to students and scholars of European and
Chinese history, but also to those concerned with understanding
contemporary global politics.' Michael Freeman, University of
Essex
'It is rare to encounter an analysis as attentive to detail and
method, yet broad in the scope of its implications as that by
Victoria Tin-Bor Hui. … it invites its readers to pursue further
the ideas discussed on its pages.' Political Studies Review
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