Course Title: Civilizations, Empires and World Order (formerly known as Civilizations and World Order)

Instructor: Dr. Chung-Min Tsai with Dr. Amitav Acharya as guest speaker

Time: Wednesday, 9-11 AM

Location: Lecture Room A09, 2F, Innovative Incubation Center, NTHU

Credit: 2

Language: Offered in English

Course Code: 11010TSE 500100

Course Description:

The 21st century is witnessing the end of the “great divergence” between the West and the Rest, which began with the rapid ascent of Western Europe from the 17th century AD onwards and the corresponding decline of the once mighty and wealthy civilizations, such as those of China, India, and Islam. As the global power and idea shifts reshape dynamics of world politics civilizational identities are asserting themselves, creating fears of what Samuel Huntington called a “clash of civilizations”. At the same time, the relative decline of the West, the crisis in the US-led liberal hegemonic order and the increasingly global role of rising powers such as China and India in world affairs are creating new possibilities of both conflict and mutual learning and cooperation between the West and the Rest. Against this backdrop, it has become ever more important to revisit the concepts of “civilization” and “world order”, to examine them from a historical and global perspective, to analyze their interaction and inter-relationships through the ages, and to draw lessons for the present and the future.   

Aside from its intellectual and analytical purpose, this course has a normative inspiration: to promote greater diversity and inclusion in international studies. According to its foundational narrative, the field of International Relations (IR) was “born” in the UK, and “raised” in the US; hence its labelling as an “American social science” (in Stanley Hoffmann’s phrase).  The conventional study of international relations relies heavily on concepts and practices developed in Europe and the US. This course (due to lack of time, it has a primary focus on China, India and Islam, but brings in others) challenges the Western-centric narrative of IR and opens the door to a Global International Relations (Global IR). While conventional IR uses the nation-state as the unit of analysis, the Global IR approach takes civilizations as the basis unit to explore the multiple types of international systems or world orders, including those that predate the Westphalian system and the rise of the West. 

If one approaches IR (or “world politics” or “international studies”) with the nation-state as its core unit of analysis, one has less than 400 years of history to play with. This is also the period of the rise and dominance of the West. If one studies IR and related fields from the perspective of civilizations, then one has over 4000 years of human history to reflect on and analyze. In this broad sweep of history, many civilizations have risen, fallen, and reemerged. No civilization can claim a monopoly over ideas or approaches to peace, security, diplomacy, development, human rights, environmental protection, or other related subject-matter of IR. By taking a broad historical perspective, this course aims to uncover the forgotten or marginalized agency of non-Western civilizations in the making of the modern world order, and stress the multiple, global origins of international relations and world politics. This “Global IR” approach not only helps us to better understand the contemporary dynamics of world politics, but also promotes inclusiveness in our increasingly complex, diverse and multicultural world. 

Join this course by selecting it in the academic system directly.

Contact: tse@my.nthu.edu.tw, Ms. Chang, Ext. 43090