In an era of shifting geopolitical landscapes and evolving international challenges, understanding international relations has never been more critical. Zeno Leoni, assistant professor from King’s College London, is a distinguished expert in international security studies. His research focuses on the fragmentation of geopolitical blocs, the grand strategies of global powers, and China’s evolving role in the international order.
In this interview, Professor Leoni shares not only his experience at FDDI as a visiting scholar, but also his insights on how contemporary geopolitical factors are reshaping security alliances and global stability. His perspective offers a fresh understanding of the interplay between competition and cooperation in an increasingly complex world.
I wrote the book because since the first Trump administration, there has been a debate on what is called by many a new cold war between US and China, and this has been firstly a debate among journalists. And then it started a debate in academics, where I realized there were different schools of thoughts.
So there were those who were talking about a new cold war, and there were those who were saying that it is not a new cold war. And then there was a third group of scholars who were like in the middle. I decided to contribute to this debate, perhaps to the third school of thought. In fact, in my book, I argue that obviously there are lots of tensions in the relationship, but there is also a lot of interdependence and understanding on both sides that cannot be a war between each other and they need to cooperate. So it’s a very complex relationship characterized by both tensions and cooperation. And this is why I call it a new type of cold war. It’s so different from the original cold war.
Can you introduce your research method?
I don’t use a hard methodology. I read a lot instead. I usually start from an argument, trying to develop that argument, but my books have never be confined to hard, qualitative or quantitative methodologies. Thinking in a big picture – maybe that’s my methodology. Like in my first book on Marxism, thinking on a global scale, and drawing on international political economy. So thinking about the international order as the intersection between international systems of states, or global economy flows in terms of long term historical perspective, is my approach. I am always trying, for instance, in my second book, to make it very easy to read for the wider public, which is important to writing policy-oriented books. So I wrote an article on the journal of IISS, Think Tank of International Institute for Strategic Studies. And this month it is coming out as an article for the Washington Quarterly, which is also policy-oriented so it’s important to also think about readability of writings.
What brought you to China? Why did you choose Fudan?
I pick Fudan because, first of all, I met Professor WU Xinbo, dean of the Institute of International Studies three years ago and I knew him because he published articles in good international journals, very good and top journals. I like these writings, so we met and he said ‘you know in Fudan we have this fellowship’. So I visited it for a few days in 2023 to catch up with him. And yet aside from these connections, I know that Fudan is a top university in China and internationally – I like what they do here, and I really like the Center for American Studies, where many colleagues work in things I’m interested in. The Fudan Development Institute said they could host me, so that’s why I applied.
Did you make any new acquaintances during your stay?
Yes, for example, Professor MA Bin who will chair the session here, my presentation. And I published an article in a journal where my colleagues collaborated with me as well. I made new connections with the fellows here. We had discussions, for example, with Professor Ma, on geographical blocs, encompassing Russia, China, Iran, North Korea, and so on. And there is also discussion going on about whether we can call this “blocs” or not, and what are its characteristics. Besides, next week will be crucial because I will give two presentations, and I look forward to receiving some feedback from colleagues. So it’s been a very, very fruitful, very productive month. I’ve also met some impressive students. They came up with good questions, and gave instant feedback. It wasn’t just me talking – they challenged me with mature thinking. I had a great experience.
You are actively engaged with policymakers in Italy and the UK. This requires pragmatic and practical thinking. And there is also the academic side in your researches – what’s its role in policymaking scenarios?
Yeah, basically, I think practitioners often look at their everyday job, daily tasks, and there are protocols. While academics, at least people like me, we do what is more than that. We look at the big picture, trends in the long term. So my role in these discussions is to try to relate what they are, their concerns, and their questions to a broader perspective. Sometimes I give feedback, like whether this can be a good or bad policy. They also seek an alternative way of thinking because for policymakers, they can be restrained by the inner circle of groupthink, where everyone influences each other and thinks in a similar way. Practitioners may lack the diversity of creative ideas. So that’s how I see the role of academics when engaging policymakers, to think outside the box.
For students at Fudan who are interested in pursuing careers in globalgovernance research, can you give them hints on the current trend?
There have been a lot of studies on global governance since the start of the century. But I would say that governance is changing. Globalization in many ways has been successful, but in others, it has failed or has been very slow. And I can see there is a return on dealing with local issues, so creating regional forums can be a trend. Every country is concerned with regional topics, i.e. Indonesian policymakers might discuss things like the submarine issue with Australia, and climate change like rising sea levels. So every country has their own focuses and I think we are going to see the emergence of mini lateral and regional forums. So I think that’s the future of governments, in my opinion, as opposed to big institutions like World Trade Organization, World Health Organization and other organizations. Perhaps there will be no one-size-fits-all solution.
It seems these modes of writing can be very different to each other, and there are also distinct ways of thinking.
Exactly. When it faces a broader range of public, it will be different. Ultimately I think academics should serve society. So we need to think how shall we share our knowledge.
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Presented by Fudan University Media Center
Writer: ZHANG Xinyue
Proofreader: WANG Jingyang
Editor: WANG Mengqi, LI Yijie
