In a twinkling, the blood fog stopped spreading, the bone spears were all resisted by a thin film, and the blood and bones all retracted, turning into two blood energy balls with a size of two meters, and explosions kept ringing inside.

In this book, John Wickersham studies the concept of hegemony in the histories of Herodotus, Thucydides, Xenophon, and Ephorus. He shows the growth of hegemony as a major theme of the historians and an important concern of classical Greek civilization. While concentrating on the single theme of hegemony, Wickersham also offers an overall appreciation of each author studied and of the Classical Greek historians as a group.

This is a study of great power relations – China, India, and Russia – among themselves and with the hegemon – United States. Ahrari argues that the next decade may witness the emergence of a bipolar order where China's dominance in economics is certain; however, China will not seriously challenge the military dominance of the U.S.

Postwar Japan has consistently maintained close cooperation with the United States over the last four decades over such major issues as Japan's recognition of China, their peace treaties, and, more recently, Japan's resumption of the yen loan to China suspended in the wake of the Tiananmen incident. This has been in spite of Japan's well-known conflict of interests in China with the United States. Japan's cooperation with the United States sheds new light on some important questions which are central to current debates about the shape of the new world order in general, and America's world role in particular, in the post-Cold War era. What has been the role of American power in maintaining Japan's cooperation? What have been the bases of American hegemony in the post-war world? How has American hegemony changed over the years? Qingxin K. Wang addresses and illuminates these important questions through a detailed and provocative study of Japan's relations with the United States over China policy in the last four decades.

Fresh perspectives and eye-opening discussions of contemporary American fiction In The Encyclopedia of Contemporary American Fiction: 1980-2020, a team of distinguished scholars delivers a focused and in-depth collection of essays on some of the most significant and influential authors and literary subjects of the last four decades. Cutting-edge entries from established and new voices discuss subjects as varied as multiculturalism, contemporary regionalisms, realism after poststructuralism, indigenous narratives, globalism, and big data in the context of American fiction from the last 40 years. The Encyclopedia provides an overview of American fiction at the turn of the millennium as well as a vision of what may come. It perfectly balances analysis, summary, and critique for an illuminating treatment of the subject matter. This collection also includes: An exciting mix of established and emerging contributors from around the world discussing central and cutting-edge topics in American fiction studies Focused, critical explorations of authors and subjects of critical importance to American fiction Topics that reflect the energies and tendencies of contemporary American fiction from the forty years between 1980 and 2020 The Encyclopedia of Contemporary American Fiction: 1980-2020 is a must-have resource for undergraduate and graduate students of American literature, English, creative writing, and fiction studies. It will also earn a place in the libraries of scholars seeking an authoritative array of contributions on both established and newer authors of contemporary fiction.

This book is a sweeping historical survey of the origins, development and nature of state power. It demonstrates that Eurasia is home to a dominant tradition of arbitrary rule mediated through military, civil and ecclesiastical servants and a marginal tradition of representative and responsible government through autonomous institutions. The former tradition finds expression in hierarchically organized and ideologically legitimated continental bureaucratic states while the latter manifests itself in the state of laws. In recent times, the marginal tradition has gained in popularity and has led to continental bureaucratic states attempting to introduce democratic and constitutional reforms. These attempts have rarely altered the actual manner in which power is exercised by the state and its elites given the deeper and historically rooted experience of arbitrary rule. Far from being remote, the arbitrary culture of power that emerged in many parts of the world continues to shape the fortunes of states. To ignore this culture of power and the historical circumstances that have shaped it comes at a high price, as indicated by the ongoing democratic recession and erosion of liberal norms within states that are democracies.

The story of the conversion of the English to Christianity traditionally begins with Augustine's arrival in 597. This text offers a critical re-evaluation of the process of conversion which assesses what the act really meant to new converts, who was responsible for it, and why particular figures both accepted conversion for themselves and threw their influence behind the spread of Christianity. The conversion has often been seen as something which missionaries did to the English. The book restores responsibility to the English and, in particular, King Aethelbert, Edwin, Oswald and Oswin, and it is their religious policies that form the focus of this text.