Pamela Crossley

Episode 297: Reign of Arrows

If the Parthian Empire is known at all, it’s by students of Roman history who see it pop up from time to time, before disappearing once again. Marcus Licinius Crassus, a member of the first triumvirate– consisting of himself, Pompey, and Julius…

What Sparked China’s Weekend of Anger?

Over the weekend, large demonstrations broke out in cities across China. The protests followed news, spread rapidly across Chinese and international social media, that a fire in an apartment building in Xinjiang’s capital of Urumqi on Friday had…

China in Protest

Over the weekend, large demonstrations broke out in cities across China. The protests followed news, spread rapidly across Chinese and international social media, that a fire in an apartment building in Xinjiang’s capital of Urumchi (Urumqi) on…

Pamela Crossley - China 20th Congress--Historical perspective

Last week Chinese President Xi Jinping called for accelerating the building of a world-class military while touting the fight against COVID-19 as he kicked off a Communist Party Congress by focusing on security and reiterating policy priorities.Xi,…

We possess all things

In​ 1793 George Macartney, the former governor of Madras, arrived in Beijing as the envoy of George III. Nobody in Beijing knew why he was there. He assumed that his commission from William Pitt made him an ambassador, and that his mission was to…

Episode 264: The Persian Version

Some 5,000 years ago nomadic peoples of central Asia settled on the Iranian plateau. Their descendants would be the nucleus of an extraordinary empire that reached north to the lands of their ancestors, eastwards to India and China, and west as far…

Remembering Jonathan Spence

Two months ago, as the hubbub of the holidays was winding down, I received a phone call I had been dreading. Jonathan Spence, the celebrated historian of China and my teacher and friend, had died on Christmas. In the days that followed, there would…

China’s Calculus on the Invasion of Ukraine

On February 24, Russia invaded Ukraine. In the week since, civilian casualties have topped 500 with bombardments sending hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians fleeing across the border. The response from much of the international community has been…

Episode 239: The Chicken and the Egg, or, What Keeps (Some) Historians Awake at Night

This is one of the last in our year-long series about the skills of historical thinking, and today our focus is on one of simplest, but perhaps also the most contentious. It is Change and Causality. Defined in the form of a question it’s to ask “What…

Larry Goodson & Pamela Crossley---Out of Afghanistan

Afghanistan expert Prof. Larry Goodson of the U.S. Army War College and PolarisLive episode host Pamela Crossley, noted China historian from Dartmouth College, USA, discuss why the most powerful and best equipped military in the world was defeated in…

Pamela Crossley - A China Agenda For Biden

With a new American President and Administration there is an opportunity to recalibrate or fine-tune US strategy for China to reflect today’s reality. Over the course of three months leading experts from Asia, the EU, and the U.S. will converse with…

Episode 185: The Anvil and Forge That Created the Modern World

For generations, both Asians and Europeans have thought of the Silk Road has been thought of as a highway connecting east to west. But what if both Asians and Europeans have gotten the whole point of the Silk Road wrong. What if instead of connecting…

What Now?

The past several months have been a particularly volatile period in U.S.-China relations. After last month’s closures of the Chinese consulate in Houston and the American consulate in Chengdu, we asked contributions to give us their assessments of…

As Its Coronavirus Outbreak Abates, China Is Trying out a New Look. Is It Working?

As the coronavirus spreads globally, China’s government is working aggressively to change its international image. In the span of just a few weeks, China has gone from the embattled epicenter of the coronavirus epidemic to presenting the country as…

Xi Jinping May Lose Control of the Coronavirus Story

This article was originally published in ChinaFile. The coronavirus outbreak that exploded three weeks ago in the central Chinese city of Wuhan has prompted the most severe government actions in three decades. Cities are closed down, transport links…

Public Anger Over Coronavirus Is Mounting. Will It Matter?

The coronavirus outbreak that exploded three weeks ago in the central Chinese city of Wuhan has prompted the most severe government actions in three decades. Cities are closed down, transport links broken, and tens of millions of people effectively…

Xi’s China Is Steamrolling Its Own History

Chinese President Xi Jinping is directing a vast ideological war across multiple theaters—politics, culture, ethics, economy, strategy, and foreign relations. Among its most intense flashpoints is historiography, particularly of China’s last empire,…

Walls Don’t Work

The idea of throwing up a border wall to prevent incomers is pretty old and has never worked very well. History is adorned with famous walls, from the Sumerian Wall of Mardu 4,000 years ago onward, and the moments their defensive pretensions…

Is America Overreacting to the Threat of Chinese Influence?

American civil and political discourse has seen a growing number of reports about worrying Chinese governmental influence in the United States. Most recently, U.S. Vice President Mike Pence decried the “malign influence” of China in the United…

Should the Vatican Compromise with China?

Amidst a crackdown on Christianity in China, on September 22 the Vatican and Beijing provisionally reached a major agreement: Pope Francis will recognize seven excommunicated bishops Beijing appointed, in exchange for more influence on who Beijing…