Nation-Building >> looking (far) east | return to front page

I've grown supremely tired of the dominance of the middle east, terrorism, and endless civilizational existenialist angst. When I have to deal with middle east issues, for example in defending my rights and identity as a muslim and an American, I will continue to do so at City of Brass. But being doomed to repeat history - deja vu, ad infinitum - seems to be the defining characteristic of the Holy Land. And I'd rather be a smart consumer of noise-filtered yet ideologically broad opinion about the middle east than aspire to pundit status. Blogs like Belgravia Dispatch, American Footprints, and Abu Aardvark pretty much cover the bases on that score.

What's more interesting to me is the power dynamic between China and Japan, frankly. On a trip to Kyoto in 2004 for a conference, I became better acquainted with Japanese culture as it truly exists, in defiance of the mass media stereotype. A full day wandering Tokyo left me genuinely and permanently receptive. And China figures large in my consciousness given that a significant fraction of my professional circle and colleagues are of Chinese origin. It's impossible for me to regard (the people of) China as an enemy, but a clash of civilizations almost certainly lies ahead. That is a reality that educated people on both sides need to acknowledge and do their utmost to modulate from within.

As a new topic, China and Japan certainly are rich veins of pundit ore to mine. For example, on the delicate dance between new Japanese PM Shinzo Abe and his counterpart in China, President Hu Jintao:

Mr Abe's first move was to pull a surprise "Nixon goes to China" visit to Beijing to meet President Hu Jintao. Mr Hu had said he would not meet Mr Koizumi until he promised not to visit the Yasukuni Shrine, a memorial to Japan's war dead, that includes 14 Class A war criminals from the second world war. Mr Koizumi visited the shrine anyway and passed on the summit with Mr Hu. Recognising the futility of his own approach and worried about the danger of anti-Japanese protests turning against the Chinese government, Mr Hu wisely chose not to demand the same condition of Mr. Abe. Mr. Abe, in turn, wisely chose not to promise that he would go to the shrine as Mr Koizumi had. With ambiguity re-established, Mr. Abe was able to meet Mr. Hu and reorient the Sino-Japanese dialogue towards more important challenges, such as cooperating to roll back North Korea's nuclear weapons programmes.

This stuff is Kremlinology for the 21st century. I'm going to reorient to the Orient.

And yes, I do feel some guilt about abandoning Africa. But Jonathan Edelstein has that covered, so a consumer I will remain.