Rivers of Iron

Name: Rivers of Iron
Brand: Unknown
SKU: 9780520372993
Price: 71.0 NZD
Availability: InStock

Railroads and Chinese Power in Southeast Asia

By Cheng-Chwee Kuik and David M. Lampton and Selina Ho

Summary

Rivers of Iron explores China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), focusing specifically on the ambitious intercountry railway system linking China and seven Southeast Asian nations. The book analyses the political dynamics and power strategies underlying this extensive infrastructure project, examining how domestic politics in China and neighbouring countries shape their responses. It addresses key questions about China's use of infrastructure for influence, the agency of smaller states, the effectiveness of industrial policy, and the strategic implications for global powers.
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Format: Hardback

$71⁰⁰

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Rivers of Iron

$71⁰⁰

Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

This work is suited for readers interested in politics, international affairs, and Asian studies, particularly those focused on China’s global influence and Southeast Asian geopolitics. It will appeal to academics, policy makers, and informed general readers seeking to understand the strategic significance of infrastructure in global power dynamics.

Description

What China’s infamous railway initiative can teach us about global dominance.

In 2013, Chinese President Xi Jinping unveiled what would come to be known as the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)—a global development strategy involving infrastructure projects and associated financing throughout the world, including Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Europe, and the Americas. While the Chinese government has framed the plan as one promoting transnational connectivity, critics and security experts see it as part of a larger strategy to achieve global dominance.

Rivers of Iron examines one aspect of President Xi Jinping’s “New Era”: China’s effort to create an intercountry railway system connecting China and its seven Southeast Asian neighbours (Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam). This book illuminates the political strengths and weaknesses of the plan, as well as the capacity of the impacted countries to resist, shape, and even take advantage of China’s wide-reaching actions.

Using frameworks from the fields of international relations and comparative politics, the authors of Rivers of Iron seek to explain how domestic politics in these eight Asian nations shaped their varying external responses and behaviours. How does China wield power using infrastructure? Do smaller states have agency? How should we understand the role of infrastructure in broader development? Does industrial policy work? And crucially, how should competing global powers respond?

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

The book has been praised for its insightful and nuanced examination of China's overseas rail projects and their geopolitical implications. Reviews highlight its valuable perspective for both academics and policymakers, with commendations for being readable and illuminating key misconceptions about China's power in the region. It is recommended reading for China scholars and those interested in Southeast Asian development and international relations.

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780520372993

Publisher: University of California Press

Format: Hardback

Date Published: 13 October 2020

Country: United States

Imprint: University of California Press

Illustration: 1 b-w illustration, 1 map, 3 tables

Audience: Professional and scholarly

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 30.0mm

Width: 152.0mm

Height: 229.0mm

Weight: 635g

Pages: 336

Collections

Cheng-Chwee Kuik David M. Lampton Education & Reference Non-Fiction Politics & Current Affairs Selina Ho

About the Author

David M. Lampton is Professor Emeritus at Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) and Research Scholar and Oksenberg-Rohlen Fellow at Stanford University’s Asia-Pacific Research Center. He has served as president of the National Committee on United States–China Relations and was the inaugural winner of the Scalapino Prize in 2010. He is the author of Following the Leader: Ruling China, from Deng Xiaoping to Xi Jinping.

Selina Ho is Assistant Professor and Chair (Master in International Affairs Program) at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore. She is also nonresident Senior Fellow at the Singapore Institute of International Affairs. She is the author of Thirsty Cities: Social Contracts and Public Goods Provision in China and India.

Cheng-Chwee Kuik is Associate Professor and Head of the Centre for Asian Studies, the Institute of Malaysian and International Studies at the National University of Malaysia, and a nonresident Fellow at the Foreign Policy Institute, SAIS Johns Hopkins. He received the 2009 Michael Leifer Memorial Prize, presented by the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, for his essay “The Essence of Hedging.”