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Studying Democracy in China

Roger Jeans found the hot, humid July weather in Lexington a bit of a shock when he returned from an out-of-town conference. His dismay is understandable, for the meeting, at which he was an invited speaker, took place in the balmy environs of Oxford, England.

Roger, the Elizabeth Lewis Otey Professor Emeritus of East Asian History, may be retired from W&L, but that just gives him more time for researching and writing. At this particular conference, An Audit of Democratic Development in the Republic of China(pdf), he discoursed on “Why Early Republican Democratic Attempts Failed.” The conference was a joint production of St. Antony’s of the University of Oxford and the China Policy Institute at the University of Nottingham. It drew scholars from Taiwan, China, the United Kingdom, German, France and the U.S.

Despite the shock of re-entry into a Southern summer, Roger reports, “The conference was extraordinary, and I’m glad I was invited.”

Roger also has edited a new book, which is coming out next month:  “The Marshall Mission to China, 1945–1947: The Letters and Diary of Colonel John Hart Caughey.” It follows his 2009 book, “Terasaki Hidenari, Pearl Harbor, and Occupied Japan: A Bridge to Reality,” which we wrote about when it was published.

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