"The Trump Administration seems to want to resist China and this may lead to dangerous conflicts."
American sociologist Richard Madsen, from the University of California-San Diego, taught a course at Master's Degree at research in Social Sciences.
PHOTO: Natalia Rouzaut
"China is becoming more powerful because it is increasing its wealth and using this power to secure its influence in Asia, which is against American interests. The Trump Administration seems to want to resist China and this can provoke dangerous conflicts". This was stated at the University of Navarra by the American sociologist Richard Madsen at the framework of a course he gave at the Master's Degree in research in Social Sciences, a program coordinated by the Institute for Culture and Society (ICS).
Madsen, who holds a PhD from Harvard University Professor Emeritus of Sociology at the University of California-San Diego (USA), is an expert on Chinese culture, U.S. culture and its International Office, as well as delving into the phenomenon of individualism.
In his opinion, these tensions can affect the rest of the world: "China has great commercial influence and can use Europe against the U.S. Imagine that - as Trump has said - the U.S. blocks Chinese imports. China could simply buy Airbus aircraft from Europe instead of Boeing, resulting in millions of dollars in losses and many, many jobs work . This could create tensions between America and Europe."
Changes in the relationship between China, Russia and the US.On the other hand, he warned that the relationship between China, Russia and the US may change. "The US used to use China as a balance against Russia and now China will sometimes collaborate with Russia and sometimes not. At the same time, it seems that Trump has sympathy for Putin," he pointed out.
Professor Madsen added at the ICS that "there is much to be gained from a positive relationship, but there are numerous tensions on both sides and it may be because the contradictions in their various cultural aspects have not been fully addressed." In that sense, he pointed out that "China has become a relatively rich country and its culture cannot be ignored".
Richard Madsen is one of the international professors teaching at Master's Degree at research in Social Sciences during the 2016-2017 academic year. Also collaborating with the program are Italian sociologist Emanuela Mora, professor at the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart; Margaret Archer, professor of Sociology at the University of Warwick (UK); and Laura Bovone, from the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart (Italy), among others.