Technology and the Rise of Great Powers: How Diffusion Shapes Economic Competition

Jeffrey Ding, Assistant Professor of Political Science, George Washington University

Wednesday, October 23, 2024
12:30 PM (Pacific Time)

ABOUT THE WEBINAR

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ABOUT THE BOOK

In considering the impact of technological advancements on the rise and fall of great powers, scholars often emphasize the pivotal role of groundbreaking innovations. However, Jeffrey Ding proposes a different perspective. Instead of focusing solely on the initial discovery of new technologies, he explores why some nations excel in adopting and scaling these innovations.

Through historical case studies and statistical analysis, Ding develops a theory centered on the importance of institutional adaptations. These adaptations facilitate the widespread diffusion of technology throughout the economy. Examining the industrial revolutions of Britain, America, Germany, and Japan, he reveals how these institutional factors influenced the distribution of global power.

Ding's work has implications for contemporary concerns about emerging technologies like AI and their potential impact on the US-China power dynamic.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jeffrey Ding is a researcher and an Assistant Professor of Political Science at George Washington University. His book Technology and the Rise of Great Powers, published with Princeton University Press, investigates how past technological revolutions influenced the rise and fall of great powers, with implications for U.S.-China competition in emerging technologies like AI. Ding’s research has been published in European Journal of International Relations, Foreign Affairs, International Studies Quarterly, Review of International Political Economy, and Security Studies. He received his PhD in 2021 from the University of Oxford, where he studied as a Rhodes Scholar, and earned his B.A. in 2016 at the University of Iowa.

ABOUT THE MODERATOR

Margaret Peters is Associate Director of the UCLA Burkle Center for International Relations and a Professor in the Department of Political Science and the Chair of the Global Studies major at UCLA. She is also a non-resident scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Her research on the political economy of migration. She is currently working on a book project on how the process of forced displacement affects migrants’ sense of dignity and how these dignity concerns affect decisions of whether to move from the crisis zone, where to move, and when to return. She is additionally writing a book on how dictators use migration, including forced migration, to remain in power. Her award-winning book, Trading Barriers: Immigration and the Remaking of Globalization, argues that the increased ability of firms to produce anywhere in the world combined with growing international competition due to lowered trade barriers has led to greater limits on immigration, as businesses no longer see a need to support open immigration at home.