The United States and China (The United States in the World: Foreign Perspectives) Review

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The United States and China (The United States in the World: Foreign Perspectives) ReviewNormative theories of democracy presume political process to be more or less rational. However, we have accumulated so much evidence to the contrary that perhaps the time has come to view these basic assumptions in a critical light and - to get rid of them. If mass democracy is a spectacle, as Guy Debord put it, why not make this the point of departure for our analysis?..
I was both delighted and a bit frustrated to find that somebody else (Murray Edelman) has done this already, obstructing somewhat my plans for that matter. And yet it is a brilliant book, crisp and clear, both simple and persuading, making complex issues .
The idea is elaborated thoroughly. Political spectacle is the logic that stands behind the construction and use of political leaders and political enemies, that elevates this or that political `problem' in the spotlight.
Political problems are the constructs of existing ideologies and political language. The main characteristic of political problem is that it is not to be solved (e.g. unemployment). It is a narrative that is used for mass arousal. This explains why substance is always eagerly sacrificed for drama, raising support for political leaders but also creating a huge gap between political agenda, everyday experience and personal well-being. Political apathy is, according to Murray, the silent resistance of citizens to the imposing rhetoric of political leaders, struggling over irrelevant issues.
Political leaders are constructed and employed by the political spectacle. They have to act in the environment with so much structural and actual constraints that there is not much they can do. The only criteria for selection of political leaders these days also seems to be not their administrative talents, but their ability to compromise and deceive. A person with clear political message could never become a political leader, because he would lack vagueness necessary to attract various groups of voters.
The existing bureaucratic system is so complex and so much involved with various interest groups and industries that putting together a coherent policy is practically out of reach for any political leaders. The impotence of political leaders makes them desperate to substitute tough stance for tough action, enemies for adversaries and opponents, foreign affairs for domestic policy. They start to look for enemies abroad, small enough to be incapable of retaliation.
Forget inner-city ghettoes and gun laws - let's bomb Belgrade, Yugoslavia ( or Baghdad, Iraq, or Grozny, Chechnya, or whatever). There is nothing like this in a book of course - it features strictly theoretic approach and, by the way, it way published well back in 1988, when the power structure was much more stable thanks to Cold war long-term threat, the PR 'trick of the century'.The United States and China (The United States in the World: Foreign Perspectives) Overview

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Tiger on the Brink: Jiang Zemin and China's New Elite Review

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Tiger on the Brink: Jiang Zemin and China's New Elite ReviewGilley has written a thorough and scholarly, well researched book on Zemin, for Sinophiles and political addicts alike. He has an understanding of the motivations of Ziang in wishing to liberalise the Chinese economy, while holding on firmly to communist ideology. Also explained is the relationship between Ziang and Zhu Rongji, which while evident now, has a history steeped in Shanghai politics. A must read for all those interested in contemporary China.Tiger on the Brink: Jiang Zemin and China's New Elite Overview

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Heart of Buddha, Heart of China: The Life of Tanxu, a Twentieth Century Monk Review

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Heart of Buddha, Heart of China: The Life of Tanxu, a Twentieth Century Monk ReviewThis highly accessible volume introduces the reader to both the history of modern China and to the practice of Chinese Buddhism through the compelling story of a twentieth-century Buddhist patriarch. I assigned the book with excellent results in my undergraduate course on the history of religion in China, but it would serve equally well for courses on modern Chinese history, and for the general reader.
The author places Tanxu's life in the context of rising modern nationalism amidst foreign aggression and war during the early twentieth century. The eminent monk's efforts to revive his religion for a modern age become intertwined with his patriotic mission to save the Chinese nation by reinvigorating its cultural and spiritual foundations. As Tanxu travels from city to city, delivering lectures and building temples, the reader encounters a rich tapestry of people, places, and political contexts.
My students particularly took interest in the author's reflections on his own efforts to gain access to Tanxu's life and legacy through his living disciples. As he built relationships with and accepted aid from these contemporary followers of Tanxu, the author encountered certain challenges to maintaining scholarly objectivity. The book therefore also brings to the fore issues of central concern to the historian's craft itself.
Overall, this book is an enjoyable and rewarding read both for the student of Chinese history and for the general reader.Heart of Buddha, Heart of China: The Life of Tanxu, a Twentieth Century Monk Overview

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Deng Xiaoping and the Transformation of China Review

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Deng Xiaoping and the Transformation of China ReviewDeng Xiaoping and the Transformation of China is a deeply researched and finely detailed portrait of one of the most fascinating figures of the twentieth century. As Vogel demonstrates, Deng Xiaoping's life and achievements are perhaps the best window for understanding the evolution of Asian politics and society over the last thirty years. Although there are still many aspects of Deng's life and policies that this book does not tell us, it does about as good a job as possible at describing Deng's life with the resources that are available.
Vogel generally depicts Deng as a pragmatic and farsighted manager. He did not see his role as coming up with new ideas, according to Vogel, but attached the greatest need to devising and implementing a new system. Although the book spends some time covering Deng's early life and the role that he played in the CCP during the Mao Zedong years, its focus is generally where it should be--on Deng's policies during his years in power.
The book is mostly divided into four main parts. The first covers "Deng's Rise to the Top" and focuses heavily on Deng's rise within the CCP from the early days of the CCP during the 1930s through the 1970s when Deng finally took command of the party. The second section on "Creating the Deng Era" focuses heavily on Deng's foreign policy during the late 1970s. It analyzes how improving relations with Japan, the United States, and Europe along with China's more general opening helped to create the context needed for economic growth. Vogel was able to find some very interesting materials for this section from the book, especially from the Carter Library. The third main part of the book on "the Deng Era" looks in detail at how Deng governed China and how his policies led to the beginnings of the PRC's economic and industrial transformation. Through a careful analysis of Deng's papers and the comments of his underlings, Vogel points to several elements of Dengs governing style that enabled him to become a success. He spoke and acted with authority, defended the party, maintained a unified command structure and set short term policies in light of long term goals. Although Deng led what was essentially a party state, Vogel, a political scientist, seems to hint that there were many aspects of Deng's leadership style that political leaders in Western democracies might learn from. The final section on "Challenges to the Deng Era" looks at the emergence of the democratic movement in China and how Deng responded to it. Here, of course, Vogel takes us through a difficult period in Chinese history and gives an honest analysis behind the reasons that Deng's government eventually encountered democratic protests and how Deng responded to them.
Generally, this is a sympathetic biography of Deng. Vogel sees China's opening and economic transformation as good things that could not have occurred without Deng's unique style of leadership. At the same time Vogel is careful to avoid turning the book into a complete hagiography. The most controversial chapters deal with the democratic challenge, the Tiananmen protests and how Deng dealt with these events. The author tries to be balanced here. He notes that despite the tragedy that occurred at Tiananmen, China subsequently enjoyed great social stability and rapid economic growth. At the same time, however, he notes that demands for political freedom in China have still not been completely satisfied. Both of these are part of Deng's legacy.
Despite Vogel's prodigious research, however, it becomes clear in some places in this biography that he was working under limitations. The author spent many months in Beijing conducting interviews and collecting available materials. But still the vast majority of the printed materials used by the author are published material. Some of the best Chinese scholars have managed to get a limited number of archival materials through persistent efforts to work with archivists in China and Vogel draws on their work. But Vogel himself does not seem to have gotten access to many Chinese archives that cover this period. For some serious China scholars eager to learn things about Deng that are completely new this might come as a disappointment. There are certainly places where some readers might crave a more detailed account of meetings that took place and the thinking that went into certain policies on the Chinese side. Vogel often does a good job of hinting at what these might have been. But he does not always have the materials that he needs to fully make his case. Hopefully, in the future, China will continue to open up its archives and historians will be able to draw up even more detailed accounts of Deng's strategic thinking about both foreign and domestic policy.
Nevertheless, these limitations are not really Vogel's fault but are generally inherent in writing about such a recent and, in many ways, controversial topic in Chinese history. For now, this is the best biography of Deng Xiaoping that we have and it sheds a great deal of light on the transformative role played by Deng Xiaoping in the creation of modern China. It is the best biography that Vogel could have written about Deng at this time.Deng Xiaoping and the Transformation of China Overview

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