Yushan Scholar Prof. Harry Harding Hosts a Forum on the Historical and Present-day Empires from a Comparative Perspective
Date :
2024-10-22
Department :
College of Social Sciences
【Article by College of Social Sciences】
On October 17, 2024, the International Doctoral Program in Asia-Pacific Studies (IDAS) of the College of Social Sciences (CSS), NCCU invited Yushan Scholar Dr. Harry Harding, who is also currently the University Professor Emeritus of Public Policy and a Faculty Senior Fellow at the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia, to speak on the topic of “The Complex Legacies of Fallen Empires: from Rome to Britain and from Russia to China.” The forum was moderated by Associate Dean of the CSS, Prof. Philip Hsiaopong Liu.
In her opening speech, CSS Dean Prof. Wan-Ying Yang introduced Dr. Harding as a renowned scholar in Asian politics and U.S.-China relations as well as a prominent figure in both academic and political circles. Dr. Harding earned a Ph.D. in political science from Stanford University. Among his notable publications are “A Fragile Relationship: The United States and China Since 1972,” “China and Northeast Asia: The Political Dimension,” “China's Second Revolution: Reform After Mao,” and “Organizing China: The Problem of Bureaucracy, 1949-1976.” His influential work on the Chinese political system and Asian security has significantly impacted policymakers and scholars, particularly regarding U.S. foreign policy toward China.
Dr. Harding began his talk by defining “empire” as a state with a metropolitan imperial center that exerts authority and influence over other subordinate states. A perfect example of such a center is the ancient Greek city of Byzantium, which was renamed Constantinople by the Roman Empire, and later became Istanbul, the capital of the Turkish Ottoman Empire. There are two broad categories of empires. On the one hand, there are formal empires that call themselves empires (like Britain, China, and Japan in the past) and exercise formal and substantial authority over subordinate states. On the other hand, there are informal empires (like the present-day United States) that yield informal but considerable and large influence over many smaller states through military alliances and various regional or global economic cooperation.
When it comes to the studies of empire, the Roman Empire is undoubtedly the model of many subsequent empires. Dr. Harding commented that many empires fell due to external pressure, not internal pressure, as usually the rulers still possessed power to suppress domestic opposition and sometimes, were still capable of making compromises to adapt to the changing political environment. In terms of internal pressures, he gave an ancient example where the weakening Western Roman Empire survived by granting equal status to the Eastern Roman Empire. A more modern example would be the Austrian Empire which recognized the autonomy of the Kingdom of Hungary and subsequently restructured to become the Austro-Hungarian Empire. These compromises lengthened the lifespan of both empires and saved them from early disintegration. Meanwhile, in terms of external pressure which led to the downfall of empires, Dr. Harding gave examples of World War I which ended Austria-Hungary, and World War II which ended the Japanese Empire.
Many Latin terms, especially in the fields of law and medicine are still alive, not only in romance languages like French and Spanish, but also in the non-romance English and German languages as well. American medical instruction uses the Latin term “nil per os” (nothing by mouth) or simply “NPO” to withhold food and fluids in patients. Meanwhile, the German term “Kaiser” (emperor) came from the name of Roman dictator Julius Caesar. These are the legacies of the Roman Empire. Furthermore, many states claim to be the successors or continuation of the Roman Empire, notably the Holy Roman Empire (of the German Nation). Dr. Harding argued that even the Soviet Union, during Stalin’s times, tried to revive the Tsarist Russian Empire modeled after the Roman Empire, as seen in the Roman-style architecture in modern Russian buildings.
Dr. Harding, an American who also lives in Hong Kong, witnessed the legacy of the British Empire. Despite some setbacks like the successful American Revolution, which resulted in many British monarch statutes being torn down across the collection of former British colonies, the British Empire survived for a little longer by successfully adapting to the changing political reality. Subordinate states like Canada and Australia were given independence while remaining in the British Commonwealth. However, the British Commonwealth model now faces significant challenges. For example, in 2024, the newly coronated King Charles III of the United Kingdom, who is also the King of Australia, now faces a divided Australian public opinion over the preservation of the Australian monarchy. His recent visit to Australia has stirred the rising republican sentiment among some Australians.
Nonetheless, in Hong Kong, many signs of the British colonial past remained in place. While some sports clubs in Hong Kong made changes by removing the word “royal” from their official names, some refused, and some compromised by only altering their names in Chinese, but not in English. Nonetheless, many colonial names of roads, harbors, and places in Hong Kong are still in place today, unlike Singapore. As such, the legacy of the British Empire still survives from the nomenclature perspective in Hong Kong. Besides, here in Taiwan, the imperial Japanese legacy can also be found in some older Taiwanese buildings, and the Japanese language is still being spoken by some Taiwanese too.
For empires, there are some negative legacies too, however, like the notorious Belgian King who oppressed Congo by treating the land and its people as his personal private property. Besides, today’s Haiti continues to pay indemnity to its former imperial master France for granting independence to Haiti many years ago, which makes Haiti remain impoverished even today.
Finally, Dr. Harding switched the focus to his academic field of expertise, which is, of course, mainland China. China has been traditionally an empire on its own and is now being seen as a rising empire on the world stage. In antiquity, there was a tributary system across Central Asia, East Asia, as well as Southeast Asia, where weaker and smaller states sent delegations with gifts and tributes to the Chinese emperors, therefore acknowledging the suzerainty (not sovereignty) of China upon these tributary states. In return, the Chinese emperors awarded these states with products or goods of much higher value. Similar patterns can be seen in the present day in the form of the Belt and Road Initiative, which is still expanding in many parts of the world. The economic influence of China is simply too powerful, only second to the United States.
Dr. Harding added that, regarding the issue of Taiwan, some proposed the formation of a Chinese union or Chinese economic community, modeled after the European Union (EU) and its predecessors, but this was rejected by China’s idea of “One Country, Two System” as the EU model will weaken Beijing’s centralized control and may even resulting in the recognition of Taiwan as a sovereign member state. The Finish model of neutrality towards Russia is unworkable too, because in the Finish case, Russia had to first recognize Finish independence, this is something that China refuse to emulate in Taiwan’s case. Concerning the power gap, Dr. Harding even quoted a Greek saying, “The strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they must, [and so please go over it].”
The forum concluded with a discussion session, where Dr. Harding and the audience covered many issues such as the Russian war on Ukraine as a form of Russian irredentism, multiple waves of colonization that undermined indigenous people in Taiwan and the United States, and reconciliation after the American Civil War.
According to Prof. Wan-Ying Yang, since 2018, the CSS-NCCU has had the tremendous honor of welcoming Dr. Harding as a Chair Professor of IDAS, thanks to the recommendations of Prof. Ping-Yin Kuan and Prof. Tse-Kang Leng. In the same year, Dr. Harding was appointed as a Yushan Scholar, the highest honor awarded by Taiwan's Ministry of Education to enhance the country's academic reputation globally by bringing leading experts and researchers to collaborate with Taiwanese universities. This year marks Dr. Harding’s second term and eighth year working with CSS-NCCU. Given his deep expertise in U.S.-China relations, Dr. Harding’s presence at the CSS-NCCU strengthens Taiwan’s ability to engage with global academic and policy discussions in the broader international community.
On October 17, 2024, the International Doctoral Program in Asia-Pacific Studies (IDAS) of the College of Social Sciences (CSS), NCCU invited Yushan Scholar Dr. Harry Harding, who is also currently the University Professor Emeritus of Public Policy and a Faculty Senior Fellow at the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia, to speak on the topic of “The Complex Legacies of Fallen Empires: from Rome to Britain and from Russia to China.” The forum was moderated by Associate Dean of the CSS, Prof. Philip Hsiaopong Liu.
In her opening speech, CSS Dean Prof. Wan-Ying Yang introduced Dr. Harding as a renowned scholar in Asian politics and U.S.-China relations as well as a prominent figure in both academic and political circles. Dr. Harding earned a Ph.D. in political science from Stanford University. Among his notable publications are “A Fragile Relationship: The United States and China Since 1972,” “China and Northeast Asia: The Political Dimension,” “China's Second Revolution: Reform After Mao,” and “Organizing China: The Problem of Bureaucracy, 1949-1976.” His influential work on the Chinese political system and Asian security has significantly impacted policymakers and scholars, particularly regarding U.S. foreign policy toward China.
Dr. Harding began his talk by defining “empire” as a state with a metropolitan imperial center that exerts authority and influence over other subordinate states. A perfect example of such a center is the ancient Greek city of Byzantium, which was renamed Constantinople by the Roman Empire, and later became Istanbul, the capital of the Turkish Ottoman Empire. There are two broad categories of empires. On the one hand, there are formal empires that call themselves empires (like Britain, China, and Japan in the past) and exercise formal and substantial authority over subordinate states. On the other hand, there are informal empires (like the present-day United States) that yield informal but considerable and large influence over many smaller states through military alliances and various regional or global economic cooperation.
When it comes to the studies of empire, the Roman Empire is undoubtedly the model of many subsequent empires. Dr. Harding commented that many empires fell due to external pressure, not internal pressure, as usually the rulers still possessed power to suppress domestic opposition and sometimes, were still capable of making compromises to adapt to the changing political environment. In terms of internal pressures, he gave an ancient example where the weakening Western Roman Empire survived by granting equal status to the Eastern Roman Empire. A more modern example would be the Austrian Empire which recognized the autonomy of the Kingdom of Hungary and subsequently restructured to become the Austro-Hungarian Empire. These compromises lengthened the lifespan of both empires and saved them from early disintegration. Meanwhile, in terms of external pressure which led to the downfall of empires, Dr. Harding gave examples of World War I which ended Austria-Hungary, and World War II which ended the Japanese Empire.
Many Latin terms, especially in the fields of law and medicine are still alive, not only in romance languages like French and Spanish, but also in the non-romance English and German languages as well. American medical instruction uses the Latin term “nil per os” (nothing by mouth) or simply “NPO” to withhold food and fluids in patients. Meanwhile, the German term “Kaiser” (emperor) came from the name of Roman dictator Julius Caesar. These are the legacies of the Roman Empire. Furthermore, many states claim to be the successors or continuation of the Roman Empire, notably the Holy Roman Empire (of the German Nation). Dr. Harding argued that even the Soviet Union, during Stalin’s times, tried to revive the Tsarist Russian Empire modeled after the Roman Empire, as seen in the Roman-style architecture in modern Russian buildings.
Dr. Harding, an American who also lives in Hong Kong, witnessed the legacy of the British Empire. Despite some setbacks like the successful American Revolution, which resulted in many British monarch statutes being torn down across the collection of former British colonies, the British Empire survived for a little longer by successfully adapting to the changing political reality. Subordinate states like Canada and Australia were given independence while remaining in the British Commonwealth. However, the British Commonwealth model now faces significant challenges. For example, in 2024, the newly coronated King Charles III of the United Kingdom, who is also the King of Australia, now faces a divided Australian public opinion over the preservation of the Australian monarchy. His recent visit to Australia has stirred the rising republican sentiment among some Australians.
Nonetheless, in Hong Kong, many signs of the British colonial past remained in place. While some sports clubs in Hong Kong made changes by removing the word “royal” from their official names, some refused, and some compromised by only altering their names in Chinese, but not in English. Nonetheless, many colonial names of roads, harbors, and places in Hong Kong are still in place today, unlike Singapore. As such, the legacy of the British Empire still survives from the nomenclature perspective in Hong Kong. Besides, here in Taiwan, the imperial Japanese legacy can also be found in some older Taiwanese buildings, and the Japanese language is still being spoken by some Taiwanese too.
For empires, there are some negative legacies too, however, like the notorious Belgian King who oppressed Congo by treating the land and its people as his personal private property. Besides, today’s Haiti continues to pay indemnity to its former imperial master France for granting independence to Haiti many years ago, which makes Haiti remain impoverished even today.
Finally, Dr. Harding switched the focus to his academic field of expertise, which is, of course, mainland China. China has been traditionally an empire on its own and is now being seen as a rising empire on the world stage. In antiquity, there was a tributary system across Central Asia, East Asia, as well as Southeast Asia, where weaker and smaller states sent delegations with gifts and tributes to the Chinese emperors, therefore acknowledging the suzerainty (not sovereignty) of China upon these tributary states. In return, the Chinese emperors awarded these states with products or goods of much higher value. Similar patterns can be seen in the present day in the form of the Belt and Road Initiative, which is still expanding in many parts of the world. The economic influence of China is simply too powerful, only second to the United States.
Dr. Harding added that, regarding the issue of Taiwan, some proposed the formation of a Chinese union or Chinese economic community, modeled after the European Union (EU) and its predecessors, but this was rejected by China’s idea of “One Country, Two System” as the EU model will weaken Beijing’s centralized control and may even resulting in the recognition of Taiwan as a sovereign member state. The Finish model of neutrality towards Russia is unworkable too, because in the Finish case, Russia had to first recognize Finish independence, this is something that China refuse to emulate in Taiwan’s case. Concerning the power gap, Dr. Harding even quoted a Greek saying, “The strong do what they can and the weak suffer what they must, [and so please go over it].”
The forum concluded with a discussion session, where Dr. Harding and the audience covered many issues such as the Russian war on Ukraine as a form of Russian irredentism, multiple waves of colonization that undermined indigenous people in Taiwan and the United States, and reconciliation after the American Civil War.
According to Prof. Wan-Ying Yang, since 2018, the CSS-NCCU has had the tremendous honor of welcoming Dr. Harding as a Chair Professor of IDAS, thanks to the recommendations of Prof. Ping-Yin Kuan and Prof. Tse-Kang Leng. In the same year, Dr. Harding was appointed as a Yushan Scholar, the highest honor awarded by Taiwan's Ministry of Education to enhance the country's academic reputation globally by bringing leading experts and researchers to collaborate with Taiwanese universities. This year marks Dr. Harding’s second term and eighth year working with CSS-NCCU. Given his deep expertise in U.S.-China relations, Dr. Harding’s presence at the CSS-NCCU strengthens Taiwan’s ability to engage with global academic and policy discussions in the broader international community.