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Join us for a conversation with Yasheng Huang as he discusses his forthcoming book, co-authored with Clair Z. Yang, on the origins of the political divergence between Europe and East Asia.
Drawing on extensive quantitative evidence, the authors examine the institutional paths of the Roman and Han Empires and revisit what they term “China’s European Moment,” a period of fragmentation and decentralization that led to diversity, dynamism, competition, and policy experimentation. The turning point came in the Middle Ages when Europe evolved towards polycentrism and power-sharing arrangements while China re-centralized and fully bureaucratized. This pivotal moment marked the initiation of a profound political divergence, leading both regions onto distinct developmental paths.
