Until approximately 1750, Europeans — even in Europe, thanks to the Ottomans — held no military advantage over other powers. But how then to explain the undeniable fact that Europeans dominated the globe from the turn of the 19th century to World War I? Still, as a critique of prevailing modes of thinking about global politics, “Empires of the Weak” succeeds admirably. The history of international relations has focused too much on the most unrepresentative period of the last millennium — the century and a half in which Europe dominated the world. As we contemplate the future, we would do well, therefore, to cast our gaze to the early modern period — and to Asia.

Source: New York Times February 28, 2019 09:56 UTC