Restless Empire: China and the World Since 1750 - Softcover

Westad, Odd Arne

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1847921981 ISBN 13: 9781847921987

Publisher: The Bodley Head Ltd, 2012

Synopsis

* Restless Empire examines the past 250 years of Chinese history - in particular China's foreign relations - to consider the issues and preoccupations that have haunted the Chinese agenda over the course of two and half centuries. * Tracing the nation's history from the Qing Dynasty in the eighteenth century to the People's Republic in the twenty-first, Westad shows how China's world view has been determined by both its receptiveness and its resistance to outside influence. * China's economic output has increased rapidly over the past thirty years, and most people believe that within two decades China will have overtaken the United States to become the world's largest economy. The Chinese Academy of Sciences proclaims that by that time the country will have eradicated poverty among its population of more than 1.5 billion and increased the average lifespan to 80 years, while establishing itself as the world's technological powerhouse. Meanwhile, some - especially its neighbours - fear that China will strengthen its military might in order to bend others to its will. * Westad shows, however, that a new form of Chinese nationalism is rising. Many Chinese are angry about the past injustices they feel they have endured and afraid that the country is losing its identity and mission to commercialisation and foreign influences. Will China's attraction to world society dwindle, or will China continue to engage with other global powers? Will it attempt to recreate a Sino-centric international order in East Asia, or pursue a more harmonious diplomatic route? And can it overcome its lack of democracy and transparency, or are these qualities hard-wired into the Chinese system? Whatever the case, one thing is certain: we ignore Chinese history at our peril. * Restless Empire is the book for anyone who wants to understand China's past, present, and future relations with the rest of the world.

About this title

About the Author

Odd Arne Westad is one of the world's foremost experts on both the Cold War and contemporary East Asian history, having won the Bancroft Prize, the Michael Harrington Award, and the Akira Iriye International History Book Award for his seminal book The Global Cold War. A Professor of International History at the London School of Economics, he is also co-director of LSE IDEAS, a centre for the study of international affairs, diplomacy and grand strategy.

Edition details

• Publisher: The Bodley Head Ltd
• Publication date: 2012
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1847921981
• ISBN 13: 9781847921987
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 528