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CIAO DATE: 06/05

The Rise of China

Michael E. Brown

MIT Press

April 2005

 

Abstract

China's relentless economic growth in the 1980s and 1990s heralded its emergence as a great power in world politics. As its economy expanded, China seemed poised to become the second-largest economy in the world. At the same time, it modernized its military and adopted a more assertive diplomatic posture. Many observers have begun to debate the international implications of China's rise. Some analysts argue that China will inevitably pose a threat to peace and security in East Asia. A few even predict a new cold war between Beijing and Washington. Others claim that a powerful China can remain benign. None believes that China can be ignored. The essays in this volume assess China's emerging capabilities and intentions, debate the impact that China will have on security in the Asia-Pacific region, and propose polices for the United States to adopt in its relations with China.

Michael E. Brown is Director of the Security Studies Program and the Center for Peace and Security Studies, Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University.

 

Table of Contents

The Contributors

Acknowledgments

Preface
Sean M. Lynn-Jones

I Assessing China's Capabilities and Intentions

  1. Great Expectations: Interpreting China's Arrival (PDF, 38 pgs, 288 KB)
    Avery Goldstein

  2. Legitimacy and the Limits of Nationalism: China and the Diaoyu Islands
    Erica Strecker Downs and Phillip C. Saunders

  3. China's Search for a Modern Air Force
    John Wilson Lewis and Xue Litai

  4. China's Military Views the World: Ambivalent Security
    David Shambaugh

II China and Asia-Pacific Security

  1. China, the US-Japan Alliance, and the Security Dilemma in East Asia
    Thomas J. Christensen

  2. The Geography of the Peace: East Asia in the Twenty-First Century
    Robert S. Ross

III Choices for Policy toward China

  1. Containment or Engagement of China? Calculating Beijing's Responses
    David Shambaugh

  2. East Asia and the "Constrainment" of China
    Gerald Segal

Suggestions for Further Reading