Andrew S. Erickson

Andrew S. Erickson, Lyle J. Goldstein, and Carnes Lord, eds., China Goes to Sea: Maritime Transformation in Comparative Historical Perspective (Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, July 2009).

Coauthor, with Lyle Goldstein, of “Chinese Perspectives on Maritime Transformation,” pp. xiii-xxxvi;

and “China Studies the Rise of the Great Powers,” pp. 401-25. Required reading for the Naval War College Strategy and Policy Department’s Senior Leadership Course.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

China’s turn toward the sea is evident in its stunning rise in global shipbuilding markets, its expanding merchant marine, its wide reach of offshore energy exploration, its growing fishing fleet, and its increasingly modern navy. Unlike other works that view China in isolation, this comprehensive assessment of China’s potential as a genuine maritime power places China in a larger world historical context. The authors, all authorities on their respective historical eras, examine cases of attempted maritime transformation through the ages, from the Persian Empire to the Soviet Union, and determine the reasons for success or failure. Without underestimating the enduring pull of China’s past as it embodies threats to the country’s internal stability and its landward borders, this comparative study provides reasons to believe–despite continued skepticism–that China has turned the corner on maritime transformation. If this proves to be true, the authors contend, such a transformation would be an extraordinary event in the history of the last two millennia. Their work updates other books written on the subject that have been overtaken by China’s rapid strategic and technological change. Readers will especially appreciate the book’s detailed maps and forward-looking analytical framework for understanding the future of Asian maritime power.

BLURBS (FULL-LENGTH)

“Throughout Asia today, China dominates the conversation. …This valuable new book… provides in one volume a comprehensive assessment of China’s naval development, the principal historical precedents, and the complex thought process that guides the Chinese Navy’s leadership.”

–Admiral Walter F. Doran, USN (Ret.), former Commander, U.S. Pacific Fleet

“The maritime history of China has long been a neglected field. The absorbing interpretive essays in China goes to Sea bring that knowledge-gap to an end…. This volume will be an indispensable companion to those readers seeking to understand where China’s navy may be heading.”

–Jonathan Spence, Yale University, author of Treason by the Book and The Search for Modern China

“…a veritable feast of delights. It shows how important Chinese maritime power is likely to be for the rest of us, but also how complex that issue actually is. It identifies so many lessons, and it establishes the dangers, limits and opportunities so well that we must hope that Chinese policy-makers also read this deeply authoritative book closely, for their sake, as well as for ours.”

–Geoffrey Till, Corbett Centre for Maritime Policy Studies, UK, author of Seapower: A Guide for the 21st Century

“This is an original and well-designed collection of scholarly essays on the larger historical context of China’s current maritime growth. … an important read.”

–Paul Kennedy, Yale University, author of The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers

“This book deserves to be read by every career Navy and Marine officer and then retained on his/her bookshelf.”

–Rear Admiral Ronald J. Kurth, USN (Ret.)

“…a remarkable collection of essays by a group of outstanding scholars. … Current developments make it essential reading for students of China, strategy, and international relations.”

–Donald Kagan, Yale University, author of On the Origins of War and The Peloponnesian War

“Among its many other merits, it provides a valuable window into what the Chinese themselves are thinking about strategic maritime matters.”

–John Curtis Perry, The Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy, Tufts University

“…a major contribution to the development of a comparative and historical perspective on contemporary China’s growing maritime ambitions. …essential reading for scholars and policy makers concerned about Chinese defense policy and developments in Chinese maritime policy.”

–Robert S. Ross, Professor of Political Science, Boston College

REVIEWS

“China Goes to Sea is to be welcomed for all the right scholarly reasons and its contributors are to be congratulated for shedding further light on the fascinating yet manifestly unfinished story of China’s maritime transformation.”

–Malcolm H. Murfett, National University of Singapore, International Journal of Maritime History, Vol. 22, No. 1 (June 2010), pp. 384-86.

“The excellent idea behind this collection is the historical comparison of how other powers in other times have made the transition from land to sea power. … In addition to its portraits and perceptions of Chinese naval expansion, the book has fine introductions to more obscure topics, such as the Ottomans. …Especially for policy makers. Summing up: Highly recommended. Most levels/libraries.”

–R. Higham, emeritus, Kansas State University, Choice: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries, Vol. 47, No. 9 (May 2010).

“…important not only for those working in naval studies and for sinologists, but also for scholars concerned with the idea of strategic culture and its application.”

–Jeremy Black, University of Exeter, Naval War College Review, Vol. 63, No. 3 (Summer 2010), pp. 156-57.

“This is a vital book that ought to be read by all the world’s political leaders and their advisors, senior military personnel and pro-active business people. Not only does it, as it claims, put China’s maritime transformation into historical perspective, it puts almost all maritime commerce into historical perspective. In analysing China’s current situation, it provides a brilliant overview of global commercial history.”

–Ships and Shipping (March 2010), p. 37.

“…The last two parts of the book look just at China. They consist of three particularly stimulating chapters which look at the rise and fall of Chinese seapower in the past and four which explore possible trajectories into the future. What emerges is a picture of the Chinese pragmatically transforming themselves (back?) into a sea-faring nation …an excellent book which sparks ideas about a lot more than ‘just’ the maritime transformation of China.”

–Anonymous reviewer, 10 February 2010.

“The third book in the Studies in Chinese Maritime Development series, this volume includes maps and essays on the nation’s seagoing endeavors from ancient times to the present.”

–Katherine Duke, “Short Takes,” Amherst Magazine, Winter 2010.

“Placing China’s efforts to expand its maritime power in historical context, the authors contend that the country may finally be on the verge of transforming itself from a strictly continental to a maritime power.”

–Survival, Vol. 52, No. 1 (February-March 2010), p. 229.

“compares historical examples dating from the Persian Empire’s maritime transformation in 550-490 BC to China’s ongoing metamorphosis, expertly addressing the factors influencing China’s turn to the sea. … This volume includes excellent work… highlighting a number of ways in which China appears to be deviating from the path historical precedence would seem to dictate. …evidence that China’s path may not replicate historical examples is offered by Erickson and Goldstein, who provide an excellent overview of how Beijing has studied the rise of great powers in hopes of emulating successes and avoiding pitfalls. Carnes Lord reviews the factors that led to failed maritime transformations and finds no compelling reason that China’s turn to the sea will fail. Instead, he finds a country that has accurately identified its geostrategic vulnerability to seaward attack and has adjusted its maritime policies to these changing security requirements. Lord’s only question is the pace and degree of China’s maritime transformation.”

–Scott W. Bray (the U.S. Navy’s Senior Intelligence Officer for China), “Turning to the Sea… This Time to Stay,” Book Review Essay, Asia Policy, No. 9 (January 2010), pp. 167-72.

“should be required reading for anyone interested in either China or, more broadly, maritime strategy. … Whether China is able to achieve what few nations in the past have done and transform itself from a continentalist past to a maritime future is an issue that will continue to be addressed for years to come. … This book is an extremely valuable contribution to that debate.”

–Capt. Gordon Andrew, RAN, Australian Defence Force Journal (Issue No. 180, 2009), pp. 85-86.

“Comprising a collection of essays from 17 clear headed and far sighted scholars it succinctly analyses present day China and its position in the maritime world, indeed in the whole world. This is one of those rare books that delivers vastly more than it promises. A fine piece of literary jewellery full of smaller gems.”

–Baird Maritime, 10 August 2009.

“…an impressive study with a sophisticated and comparative approach, a worthy addition to any library. It is an informative read that will please history-buffs and political-wonks alike.”

–Xinhui, China Defense Blog, 4 August 2009.