Dr. Arne Westad

Biography

Odd Arne Westad is a scholar of modern international global history, specializing in the history of Eastern Asia during the 18th century. He studied history, philosophy, and modern languages at the University of Oslo before pursuing a graduate degree in U.S. and international history at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he primarily worked with Michael H. Hunt. Westad has published sixteen books focusing on 20th-century Asian global history. His career has been largely preoccupied with the history of the Cold War, China-Russia relations, and the history of the Chinese Civil War and the Chinese Communist Party. Key publications include 'Cold War Revolution,' which deals with Soviet intervention in the Chinese Civil War between 1944 and 1946, and 'Decisive Encounters,' a general history of the Chinese Civil War during the Communist victory period between 1946 and 1950. He has edited works on various topics related to Sino-Soviet Cold War history. Since the mid-2000s, Westad has been interested in broader aspects of post-colonial global history and modern Chinese history. His significant works from this period include 'The Global Cold War,' which argues about understanding the Soviet-American conflict in light of late post-colonial changes in Asia, Africa, and the Caribbean, and 'Restless Empire,' which discusses major trends in China’s international history since 1750. Westad is focused on researching the histories of empires and imperialism, particularly in Asia, and is analyzing how China's late 20th-century economic reforms have affected the global economy.

Research Interests

Experience