World Trends

  • A World History Free from Both Eurocentrism and Orientalism 16 Individualism

    . (Individualism is often viewed as a concept unique to white Westerners. However, the desire to independently shape one’s own destiny without relying on the group is, in fact, widely found among the Chinese as well. On the other hand, even in the West, waves of fascism that suppress individual rights have repeatedly emerged.Modern individualism emerged in tandem with economic…

  • A World History Free from Both Eurocentrism and Orientalism 15 How the “Modern Values” Came into Being

    （Values such as freedom, individualism, democracy, and the market economy began to be clearly recognized in Western Europe from the 17th century onward. While white Westerners regard these values as unique to their own race, the situation was different in medieval Germanic societies. Modern values took shape as economic development from the Middle Ages onward allowed more people to live…

  • A World History Free from Both Eurocentrism and Orientalism 14 The Formation of the Modern Nation-State 6 The “Elite” Class

    （To run a “nation,” a certain number of people with knowledge and skills in politics and administration are necessary. While it is important for every citizen to express their opinions, without people to synthesize those views into laws and policies and implement them, society will fall apart, and uncontrollable power struggles will ensue.Those responsible for the governance of society were…

  • America Turns Away From Trumpism

    A Victory for Common Sense The Democrats won the midterms. The larger story is that many Americans rejected the rough-and-tumble America that Donald Trump embodies. Trump tries to get his way with bizarre policies that defy reason, with sophistry, invective, and violence. It is true that America has had men like him in every era. But they have stood outside…

  • Defining the Magnitude of the Slave Trade

    （King Charles of the United Kingdom is currently on a state visit to the Caribbean. There, he has expressed remorse for the country’s past—specifically, the fact that, beginning in the 17th century, Britain brought large numbers of African slaves to work on sugarcane plantations, using their labor as the foundation for its own economic development.Before debating ethical issues, let’s first…

  • A World History Free from Both Eurocentrism and Orientalism 13 The Formation of the Modern Nation-State 5 Patriotism as a Tool of the Modern Nation-State

    （“Patriotism” is a concept that was formed quite artificially in the nation-states of modern Western Europe. While love for one’s family or hometown is natural, love for the abstract entity known as the “nation-state” is sometimes deliberately imposed by those in power. It is an ideology designed to conscript people and levy taxes on them. The nation-state as an institution…

  • Time to Rethink Our Assumptions About North Korea

    What It Means That Pyongyang No Longer Seeks Korean Reunification . Mention North Korea, and certain associations spring to mind: “dangerous,” “poised to invade South Korea,” or “eager for a meeting with Trump.” Yet the underlying paradigm seems to have changed considerably since around 2024. . At a meeting of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea in…

  • German Chancellor Merz’s Visit to Japan Shall Promote the Cooperation of Middle-Power States

    German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is scheduled to visit Japan on October 28. He will then travel to South Korea and Singapore. Since his itinerary appears to deliberately bypass China, some in Japan may see this as an opportunity to draw Germany into a coalition aimed at containing China. . However, Chancellor Merz already visited China in February, a country with…

  • A World History Free from Both Eurocentrism and Orientalism 12 The Formation of the Modern Nation-State 4 Britain’s Path Toward Democracy

    （Britain’s path toward democracy was not guided by any noble or consistent blueprint. The process was a whirlwind of conflicting interests and intrigues involving the king, the gentry, merchants, and others. It is particularly symbolic that the bursting of the South Sea Company stock bubble in 1720 led to the eventual curtailment of the king’s power and the elevation of…

  • Much Ado About U.S. Imports of Russian Diesel

    On October 9, Trump spoke with Putin by phone. The call was supposed to mark Putin’s birthday on October 7, but the time difference and Putin’s overseas travel pushed it back to the ninth. Trump probably expected that they could agree on—and announce—a date for resuming trilateral talks among Ukraine, Russia, and the United States on a ceasefire in Ukraine.…