Event

This talk will move between East and Southeast Asia and between the 1980s and the 2020s with a focus on recurring patterns and novel developments in youth movements that in most cases challenge different forms of autocratic rule but in some instances strive to defend hard won past democratic victories. The speaker will pay particular attention to events in Beijing, Bangkok, and Hong Kong, but also bring in events in Taipei, Yangon, and Seoul. Wasserstrom will introduce material from his latest book, The Milk Tea Alliance: Inside Asia's Struggle Against Autocracy and Beijing (Columbia Global Reports, 2025), but also draw on past work he has done in his early career writings on Tiananmen and his 2020 book Vigil: Hong Kong on the Brink.

Jeffrey Wasserstrom is a Distinguished Professor of History at UC Irvine, where he also holds courtesy appointments in Law, Literary Journalism, Political Science, and East Asian Studies. He co-edits the China Section of the Los Angeles Review of Books, contributes regularly to newspapers and magazines, and is currently writing a book about Orwell and Asia.