For Teachers: Teachers' Guide

China and Europe: the New Units of Analysis

Summary

In the fourth section, Pomeranz and Wong argue that the recent emergence of the European Union (EU) has diminished the significance attached to the national state. The emergence of the EU also reminds us that nation-states are not natural developments and that political units change and evolve over time. Wong also analyzes the types of geographical units that can be used in comparing Europe and China; he analyzes the nature of economic dynamism in the world between 1500 and 1700.