CONTENTS Features

ISSUE 3

Young people gather for jazz and dancing in a Shanghai cafe in this 1920s photo. This issue, we explore how China’s relationships with the rest of the world changed throughout the 20th century

I M A G E S

G E T T Y

22 China’s public image war BY ROBERT BICKERS We explore China’s campaigns to shape its national identity and international profile 32 THE BIG QUESTION

Have empires ever been a force for good? A panel of experts debates the impact of historical superpowers on their colonies 48 Fight for the American west BY PETER COZZENS Deconstructing myths about the conflicts between settlers and Native Americans

60 Treasures of Minoan Crete BY BETTANY HUGHES A history of the influential Bronze Age civilisation in eight beautiful objects 72 Free thinking BY MATT ELTON Seven historians and writers speaking at the 2017 Jaipur Literature Festival discuss the challenges facing the study of world history 76 Africa’s proxy cold war BY LAWRENCE JAMES How the Soviet Union and United States fought for influence in post-colonial Africa

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