Ring of Fire: The Emerging Crisis in the South China Sea.

This set of four lectures explores what has happened in the last 25 years to China, a

country seemingly destined to dominate the 21st century – and yet now increasingly

proceeding under a cloud of economic, political, social, and foreign relations instability.

Where is this great power going? How has this recent history reflected President Xi

Jinping’s policies? How has US policy impacted China’s plans? Will uncertainty and

decline make regional conflict more or less likely? We will be examining key areas of

change such as demography, real estate development, raw materials and energy

acquisition, and industrial flight from China – all in a domestic political world tightly

controlled by one man.