Liu Shucai

An '80s-born scholar, I began my academic journey at twenty, gaining admission to a university on Guizishan (Osmanthus Hill) in Wuhan. I was placed into the History Base Class and, driven by an interest in philosophy and psychology, pursued a minor in Psychology. Under the guidance of several dedicated professors who led by example, I received solid foundational training in historical research. I then pursued further studies in Shanghai, focusing on French intellectual history by the Liwa River. Captivated by theories of "historical progress," I immersed myself in interdisciplinary reading. However, my ambitions outran my execution at the time, leading to the rejection of my master's thesis and a subsequent six-month graduation delay. After a period of uncertainty, I re-entered academia through doctoral studies in International Relations at my alma mater. My dissertation sought to connect intellectual history with international relations theory, specializing in the war philosophy of French thinker Raymond Aron. Facing a challenging job market after my Ph.D., I continued my research as a postdoctoral fellow at Fudan University. There, I applied my doctoral work to analyze contemporary drone warfare—research whose relevance has endured.