A World of Turmoil: The United State, China, and Taiwan in the Long Cold War
On today’s episode, we’re joined by Stephen J. Hartnett to discuss his book A World of Turmoil: The United States, China, and Taiwan in the Long Cold War. Thanks for tuning in.
The United States, the People’s Republic of China, and Taiwan have danced on the knife’s edge of war for more than seventy years. A work of sweeping historical vision, A World of Turmoil offers five case studies of critical moments in these relationships: the end of World War II and the start of the Long Cold War; the almost-nuclear war over the Quemoy Islands in 1954–55; the détente, deceptions, and denials surrounding the 1972 Shanghai Communiqué; the Taiwan Strait Crisis of 1995–96; and the rise of postcolonial nationalism in contemporary Taiwan.
In the book, Hartnett explores how each country’s communication style structured these events and reveals that leaders in all three nations have fallen back on crippling stereotypes and self-serving denials in their diplomacy. The first study of its kind, this provocative book merges history, rhetorical criticism, and advocacy in a tour de force of international scholarship. By mapping the history of miscommunication between the United States, China, and Taiwan, A World of Turmoil shows where and how these entwined relationships have gone wrong, clearing the way for renewed dialogue, enhanced trust, and new understandings.
In the book, Hartnett explores how each country’s communication style structured these events and reveals that leaders in all three nations have fallen back on crippling stereotypes and self-serving denials in their diplomacy. The first study of its kind, this provocative book merges history, rhetorical criticism, and advocacy in a tour de force of international scholarship. By mapping the history of miscommunication between the United States, China, and Taiwan, A World of Turmoil shows where and how these entwined relationships have gone wrong, clearing the way for renewed dialogue, enhanced trust, and new understandings.
Stephen J. Hartnett is a professor in the communication department at the University of Colorado Denver. He served as the 2017 president of the National Communication Association, and is the co-founder and coorganizer of the Biennial Conference on Communication, Media, and Governance in the Age of Globalization, and the Shenzhen Forum on Communication Innovation, New Media, and Digital Journalism.
Stephen’s book A World of Turmoil: The United States, China, and Taiwan in the Long Cold War is available at msupress.org and other fine booksellers. You can connect with the press on Facebook and @msupress on Twitter, where you can also find me @kurtmilb.
Stephen’s book A World of Turmoil: The United States, China, and Taiwan in the Long Cold War is available at msupress.org and other fine booksellers. You can connect with the press on Facebook and @msupress on Twitter, where you can also find me @kurtmilb.
The MSU Press podcast is a joint production of MSU Press and the College of Arts & Letters at Michigan State University. Thanks to the team at MSU Press for helping to produce this podcast. Our theme music is “Coffee” by Cambo.
Michigan State University occupies the ancestral, traditional, and contemporary Lands of the Anishinaabeg – Three Fires Confederacy of Ojibwe, Odawa and Potawatomi people. The University resides on Land ceded in the 1819 Treaty of Saginaw.
Thank you all so much for listening, and never give up books.