Isha zericl is a professor of international relations at the university of cambridge and a fellow at emmanuel college. Her new book, after defeat, how the east learned to live with the west, explores the rise and fall of eastern world orders. Ashazaraco: Why is it important to understand the history of these world orders that for centuries were dominated by asian empires? Zericl: I mean, my goal was always to write the history of the east for international ations, but i thought it would also worth while to do that because it expands our thinking.