One of the major strengths of The Ripple Effect is its context-sensitive deliberation on the multifaceted nature of China’s presence in primarily the Mekong states of Southeast Asia. Unlike other works that focus solely on, say, economics or politics, the book weaves together a broad spectrum of influences, encompassing economic ties, cultural diplomacy, geopolitical maneuvering,…
Tag: China
H-Diplo | RJISSF Roundtable 16-21 on Whitlark, All Options on the Table
Rachel Whitlark’s All Options on the Table: Leaders, Preventive War, and Nuclear Proliferation brings together two critical areas of international relations research: nuclear politics and the role of individual leaders. After the Cold War ended, many historians and political scientists turned their attention away from nuclear weapons—and even, for a few years, from international security more…
H-Diplo | RJISSF Roundtable 15-49 on Murphy, China’s Rise in the Global South
During the first few years of the 2020s, it has become increasingly difficult to talk about the future of the Middle East and Africa without eliciting the topic of great-power competition. While these regions have long been subject to the actions of external powers, the rise of China has transformed development options and skylines across…
H-Diplo | RJISSF Roundtable 15-48 on Torigian, Prestige, Manipulation, and Coercion
This is an extremely important book, which has received much attention—in journals, in speaking invitations for the author, and in the fellowships he has been awarded.[1] Its significance lies in the author’s argument that, unlike almost all previous scholarship on the subject of political succession in authoritarian and Communist regimes, it is not economic/material interests,…
H-Diplo | RJISSF Review Essay 101: Zhu on Leoni, Grand Strategy and the Rise of China
Observers can hardly reach a consensus about contemporary China. Scholars, journalists, and government officials often present totally different images of China. Some foresee China’s impending replacement of the United States as the global power; others predict China’s looming economic collapse and political breakdown.[1] Like the six blind men in an Indian parable who draw their…
H-Diplo | RJISSF Review Essay 99: Grgić on Moldicz, Geopolitics in Central Europe
An exploration into the contemporary geopolitical and geoeconomic dynamics of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) has been a long-awaited addition to the academic literature and an ambitious feat, which Csaba Moldicz recognizes.[1] The main contribution of Geopolitics in Central Europe is that it acts as a catalyst for a deeper examination and critical discourse on…
H-Diplo | RJISSF Policy Roundtable III-5 on US Economic Statecraft
In 2022, the Biden Administration enacted two major policies at the intersection of emerging technology and political economy. First, in August 2022, President Joe Biden signed the Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors (CHIPS) for America Fund, which allocated $52 billion in incentives and investments to re-shore semiconductor chip manufacturing from abroad. The legislative language…
H-Diplo | RJISSF Review Essay 96: Wang on Pantucci and Petersen, Sinostan
Based on fieldwork primarily conducted before the COVID-19 pandemic by Raffaello Pantucci and the late Alexandros Petersen,[1] this carefully written book is impressive. It calls for greater attention to the Eurasian landmass to account for the growing dominance of the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) in six Central Asian countries” Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan,…
H-Diplo | RJISSF Conference Report on “The Failure of the Post-Cold War Global Order?”
H-Diplo | Robert Jervis International Security Studies Forum Conference Report on “The Failure of the Post-Cold War Global Order?” 31 May–3 June 2023, in Mainz Organizers: Andreas Rödder, chair for Modern and Contemporary History at the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz and Helmut Schmidt Distinguished Visiting Professor at the Henry A. Kissinger Center for Global…
H-Diplo | RJISSF Review Essay 93: Daniels on Meijer, Awakening to China’s Rise
On both sides of the Atlantic it has become fashionable to criticize the China policies of the West over the last few decades as having been “naïve.”[1] Confronted with Chinese President Xi Jinping’s self-confident, often abrasive and confrontational style of foreign policy, the West’s hopes of “Wandel durch Handel” (change through trade)—one of the main…