The Making of Chinese Foreign and Security Policy in Era of Reform

Bys: Yang, Hu and Xiao, Yang

Book Overview

This volume provides a unique look at the changes in the way Chinese foreign and security policy is made during the reform era, and the implications of those changes for China's future behavior on the international stage. Bringing together the contributions of more than a dozen scholars who undertook extensive field research in the People's Republic of China, South Korea, and Taiwan, the book is the most comprehensive, in-depth, and rigorous account of how Chinese foreign and security policy is formulated and implemented.

Since the reform era began in the late 1970s, a new and ever-changing mix of forces has been reshaping Chinese foreign and national security policy-making institutions and processes. This volume examines those forces: bureaucratic politics and evolving organizations, changing elite views and skills, an altered domestic agenda, increasingly diverse social forces and public opinion, and the growing complexity of the international system itself, including globalization and multilateral regimes. The analysis goes one step further to look at specific foreign and security policy issues and relationships, including case studies dealing with Korea, Taiwan, the World Trade Organization, and arms control.

The volume addresses itself to policy-makers in both the public and private sectors, as well as scholars of China and international relations. It concludes that China's foreign and national security policy making, as well as its behavior abroad, is largely shaped by the forces of globalization, decentralization, pluralization, and professionalization. But the book also shows how the enduring power of Chinese decision makers and their national interest focus also mould China's behavior, notably in crises and in major strategic decisions. Looking to the future, the book suggests that the forces of change in the Chinese system offer the possibility, though not the certainty, that China may increasingly fit more comfortably into the international system in the years ahead, though not without frictions and mishaps.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0804740569
• ISBN13: 9780804740562
• Release Date: January 1
• Publisher: Stanford University Press
• Length: 528 Pages
• Weight: 1.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 6.0" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

Precise and accurate analysis

I'm a Chinese citizen living in the states and after reading this book for a college class, I must say this is one of those rare english books about China that have an accurate perception of Chinese outlooks from an internal perspective. It describes a number of foreign policy issues facing China as viewed by various levels from the common people to the policy-making elite, and the forces and ideas at work within each of these segments of the decision-making process.However, note that this book is a policy book only, and seems to assume fairly thorough knowledge of historical background on the part of readers, so it would be advisable to pick up on the history before tackling this book. At least read up in depth on history from the Qing to the present, if not all on all imperial history from ancient times.For those who have the background, the analysis in this book will be very insightful. For Americans who want to understand China, this book will provide a real meaningful glimpse into modern Chinese thinking towards the outside world that will be relevant to state relations in the future.Highly recommended, along with other reading, of course.