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Author

Jean-Pierre Lehmann

Emeritus Professor of International Political Economy at the IMD Business School

[Switzerland]

Jean-Pierre Lehmann (1946-2017) was an emeritus professor of international political economy at IMD in Lausanne, Switzerland. He also served currently a visiting professor on the Faculty of Business and Economics at Hong Kong University.

He was also a Contributing Editor at The Globalist, where he published around 60 articles. One of his all-time great articles was a six-part series “China In My Life: A Personal History.”

Previous academic appointments include Sophia University (Tokyo), Oxford, Stirling University (UK), Tohoku University (Japan) INSEAD (France), School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University (Bologna Campus), London Business School, and the Stockholm School of Economics.

In 1995, Mr. Lehmann founded the Evian Group, an international coalition of corporate, government and opinion leaders. It is united by a common vision of enhancing global prosperity for the benefit of all by fostering an open, inclusive, sustainable and equitable global market economy in a rules-based multilateral framework.

His doctoral thesis was on Japanese history and technology transfer during the period of transformation in the mid/late 19th century. He has spent most of his professional life working in and on East and South Asia. In the course of the last decade, he has also become actively involved in projects in Africa, the Middle East and Latin America.

He acts in various leading capacities in a number of global public policy institutions, as an adviser to governments and corporations, on the editorial board of various journals and as a frequent commentator in the international media.

He is the author of several books and numerous articles. His latest book, co-edited with his son Fabrice Lehmann, is Peace and Prosperity through World Trade: Achieving the 2019 Vision (Cambridge, 2010). He also writes a monthly column for China Entrepreneurs Magazine.

Jean-Pierre Lehmann earned a B.S. degree at the School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University, and his D.Phil. at Oxford University.

Photo credit: Oh Jaehyuk – World Economic Forum

Articles by Jean-Pierre Lehmann

China in My Life — A Personal Journey: The 1950s

How does the emergence of China look through the prism of a Westerner's life?

July 1, 2021

October 2049: The 100th Anniversary of the People’s Republic of China

What will China look like a century after Mao’s victory in 1949?

August 29, 2019

China in My Life — A Personal Journey: The 1980s

How did China react to Japan's economic boom in the 1980s — and its financial meltdown in the 1990s?

December 29, 2017

China in My Life — A Personal Journey: The 1970s

What were the 1970s like in China, when even mainstream Western politicians came to call on Mao in Beijing?

December 29, 2017

China in My Life — A Personal Journey: The 1960s

What happened when China was eclipsed by the rise of neighboring Japan?

December 29, 2017

China in My Life — China in the 21st Century

Are the Beijing Olympics a pinnacle of China's rise — or a pitfall?

December 29, 2017

China in My Life — A Personal Journey: The 1950s

How does the emergence of China look through the prism of a Westerner's life?

December 28, 2017

America’s Blind Infatuation with Israel

Lessons from Amos Oz on the coexistence of Jews and Arabs.

January 3, 2017

Lagarde’s Failure to Do the Honorable Thing – And Resign

Christine Lagarde’s confirmation as IMF Managing Director further undermines global governance.

December 22, 2016

From the American Challenge to the Chinese Challenge?

The unfolding Western effort to paint a picture of a benign America and a malign China is a distortion of the historical truth.

December 15, 2016

Illustrations of U.S. interventionism

The West can’t blame China for its aggressive stance and whitewash its own imperialism.

December 15, 2016

The Collapse of the Global Trading System

The notion that trade per se fosters peace and prosperity is fanciful.

May 18, 2016

South Korea/Japan: “Comfort Women” as a Political Football?

The tragic case of Japan's WWII sex slaves.

March 5, 2016

The Trump Effect on China

Donald Trump and prospects for democracy and xenophobic populism in China

March 1, 2016

The Resurgence of Japanese Nationalism

Japanese Prime Minister Abe's military choice brings Asia closer to war.

July 22, 2015

United States: The Hypocritical Hegemon

Why the United States has lost the mantle of moral and geopolitical arbiter.

June 7, 2015

China: Peaceful Rise to Great Power Status Won’t Be Easy!

Can the West constructively encourage China’s peaceful rise?

May 16, 2015

TPP: Beware of the Japan Hype

Just as is the case in the US, there is very strong domestic opposition to TPP in Japan.

April 29, 2015

70 Years of Selective History After the Pacific War

What are the prospects for the next 70?

March 10, 2015

The Myth of Asia: The Absence of an Asian Intellectual Space

Asian nations must decrease their intellectual dependence on the West.

January 21, 2015

The Myth of Asia: Now Perpetrated By Asians Themselves

Why “Asia” never made any sense.

January 4, 2015

Make in India! But Can India Make It?

Reflections on the Post-Indian-Visa-Application-Stress-Syndrome.

November 29, 2014

The Failure of Islam to Reform

Only Islam can extricate itself from the failures in its history.

September 22, 2014

Why the Military Campaign Against ISIS Will Fail

Thoughts on the future of the Arab world.

September 22, 2014

China: Radical Transformations – From Middle Kingdom to Global Sea Power

China from Mencius to Mahan - through Marx, Mao and Market Leninism.

August 15, 2014

The Global Trade Impasse: The Chinese Leadership Conundrum

China’s time to lead the WTO has come.

July 7, 2014

Europe: June 1914 Vs. June 2014

How Europe went from barbarity to civilization over the course of the 20th century.

June 28, 2014

President Obama’s Pirouettes in Asia

Did Japan, Korea et al. see any signs of U.S. President Obama's Asia "pivot" in his recent trip?

May 1, 2014

War and Peace in Asia: There Are Always Choices

China is becoming a global power. Can it break the bellicose pattern set by all previous rising global powers?

February 13, 2014

Beyond Economic Integration: European Lessons for Asia Pacific?

Economic integration alone does not suffice to keep a dependable peace.

February 3, 2014

London and Beijing: A Polluted Tale of Two Cities

How Beijing's tale proceeds from here will determine what kind of planet we leave behind.

November 12, 2013

Why Some Nations Grow Fast (and Others Don’t)

What are the historical origins and future prospects of the Chinese business model?

November 6, 2013

India’s Food Crises: A Close-Up

Can India be a global power when it can't guarantee its own food security?

September 1, 2013

Energy Security: Asia’s Achilles Heel

What is the weakest point in the geopolitical rise of Asia — and what are the rising nations doing to fix it?

August 7, 2013

China’s New Cultural Counter-Revolution

Remember the times when peasants, not the proletariat, were the vanguards of China's communist revolution?

July 22, 2013

Tibet and 21st Century Water Wars

How will the Tibetan Plateau determine the course of Asia's future?

July 11, 2013

Japan: The World’s Really Lucky Country

Compared with other occupied nations, how did postwar Japan get so lucky?

June 16, 2013

France’s Cahuzac Affair: Not Just a National Farce

With so many scandals, is it any wonder that people not just in France, but everywhere are losing faith in their elected governments?

April 11, 2013

The China-Japan-Korea Triangle

Do the ghosts of Northeast Asia's past imperil the region's future stability and prosperity?

March 1, 2013

Bridging the 21st Century’s North-South Divide

International institutions like the World Bank and the UNFCCC have lost momentum. What will it take to get the global agenda going again?

March 13, 2012

The Global Governance Deficit: The Theater of the Absurd

What will it take to stop 21st century global governance from being a "theater of the absurd"?

August 19, 2011

Celebrating the 70th Anniversary of the Atlantic Charter

Why does the new global era demand a new global charter?

August 13, 2011

Europe and the Arab World in the 21st Century

Does more unite the Arab world and Europe than divides them?

February 9, 2011

The Seven Global Economic Spheres of 2020

What will the world's economic landscape look like in 2020?

January 28, 2011

Asia’s Place in 21st Century Global Governance (Part II)

Will Asia emerge not only as the center of economic gravity, but also as a center of genuine global governance?

August 3, 2009

Asia’s Place in 21st Century Global Governance (Part I)

Can Asian countries come together effectively in the international arena?

August 3, 2009

China in My Life — Exploring China’s Future

When it comes to economic and geopolitical influence, how does China compare to the United States?

February 16, 2008

Business Education in the Era of Globalization

What do business schools need to do to prepare business leaders in the 21st century?

January 17, 2008

An Iran Manifesto

How would Iran and the world benefit if Iran were to integrate itself into the global system, say, along Chinese lines?

March 15, 2007

The EU and the Doha Dead End

Are European fears about free trade reforms in the Doha round resting on false assumptions?

May 1, 2006

The Dangers of Monotheism in the Age of Globalization

Can India's polytheism provide a moral and spiritual example to the world that the West and Islam cannot?

March 30, 2006

Japan Vs. China: The Other Clash of Civilizations?

Japan and China are increasingly at odds with each other. Why does the rest of the world need to worry?

January 20, 2006

Global Trade at a Crossroads

What harsh lesson did history teach us about global cooperation?

April 15, 2005

Is Turkey “Enlightened” Enough to Join the EU?

Should Turkey be allowed to join the European Union?

December 10, 2004

The U.S. Occupation of Japan — Four Lessons for Iraq

What lessons for Iraq can the Bush Administration take away from the post-World War II occupation of Japan?

January 28, 2004

The Business of Corruption

Should companies be actively shamed into stopping bribes in the global business world?

August 8, 2003

Rebuilding the Mideast: Women Are Key

Can the status of women in the Far East provide a roadmap for the Middle East?

April 3, 2003

The World at War — Thinking the Unthinkable

Should the world be concerned that it is in a state of global war?

March 13, 2003

Sicily: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

How is Sicily's ancient culture coping with globalization?

December 28, 2002

China, Arabs and Globalization

Why is the globalization challenge easier for China to tackle than it is for the Arab world?

August 12, 2002

Liberalism and Globalization

What is the value of liberalism in a global society?

July 19, 2002