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Andrew S. Erickson China's rapid development is reshaping the world in all dimensions. Chinese language open sources offer insights into these critical trends. While such materials are increasing constantly in number, diversity, and sophistication, only a fraction is available in English. The analyses available here, many based on sources not previously considered outside China, are designed to help bridge that gap--and thereby increase understanding of the most dynamic great power in the international system today.

28 October 2011

China’s Energy Security: Perception and Reality

Guy C.K. Leung, “China’s Energy Security: Perception and Reality,” Energy Policy, 39.3 (March 2011): 1330-37.
Abstract
China, now the world’s second-largest economy, is worried about energy security, which underpins the core objectives of Beijing and the political legitimacy of the Communist Party of China. The purpose of this study is to explore certain popular myths about China’s energy […]

28 October 2011

Crisis and Confidence: Major Powers and Maritime Security in Indo-Pacific Asia

Rory Medcalf and Raoul Heinrichs with Justin Jones, Crisis and Confidence: Major Powers and Maritime Security in Indo-Pacific Asia (Sydney: Lowy Institute for International Policy, June 2011).
The sea lanes of Indo-Pacific Asia are becoming more crowded, contested and vulnerable to armed strife. Naval and air forces are being strengthened amid shifting balances of economic and […]

28 October 2011

Mapping Chinese Oil and Gas Pipelines and Sea Routes

P. K. Gautam, “Mapping Chinese Oil and Gas Pipelines and Sea Routes,” Strategic Analysis, 35:4 (2011): 595-612.
Abstract: China is pursuing an energy policy to alleviate its import dependence, diversify the sources and routes of imported oil and prepare for supply disruption. China’s import of hydrocarbons is growing rapidly. Besides sea transport from West Asia and […]

28 October 2011

China’s New Energy-Security Debate

Andrew B. Kennedy, “China’s New Energy-Security Debate,” Survival 52:3 (2010): 137-58.
Over the past ten years, China’s soaring demand for energy has complicated its foreign relations on many fronts. China’s growing oil imports have sparked criticism that this demand puts upward pressure on world oil prices. Investments by China’s national oil companies have vexed governments trying […]

28 October 2011

China’s Naval Modernization: Reflections on a Symposium

Aki Nakai, “China’s Naval Modernization: Reflections on a Symposium,” Boston University Center for the Study of Asia, Occasional Paper on Asia 1 (February 2011).
The “rise of China” is on everyone’s lips these days, with the conversation being driven both by China’s rapid economic development and its military modernization. On November 9, 2010, the Boston University […]

27 October 2011

China in the Indian Ocean: Impacts, Prospects, Opportunities

Nathaniel Barber, Kieran Coe, Victoria Steffes, and Jennifer Winter, China in the Indian Ocean: Impacts, Prospects, Opportunities, Prepared for U.S. government’s Office of South Asia Policy (Madison, WI: Robert M. LaFollette School of Public Affairs, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2011).
Mainland China has increased its activities in the Indian Ocean region by investing in local states, building […]

27 October 2011

Can China Defend a ‘Core Interest’ in the South China Sea?

Toshi Yoshihara & James R. Holmes, “Can China Defend a ‘Core Interest’ in the South China Sea?” The Washington Quarterly 34.2 (2011): 45-59.
Déjà vu surrounds reports that Beijing has claimed a ‘‘core interest’’ in the South China Sea. High-ranking Chinese officials reportedly asserted such an interest during a private March 2010 meeting with two visiting […]

27 October 2011

Crisis Instability and US-China Relations: The Present (If Not Clear) Danger

Avery Goldstein, “Crisis Instability and US-China Relations: The Present (If Not Clear) Danger,” paper presented at American Political Science Association 2011 Annual Meeting.
Two concerns have driven much of the debate about international security in the post Cold War era. The principal concern has been the potentially deadly mix of nuclear proliferation, rogue states, and international […]

27 October 2011

China’s Petroleum Predicament: Challenges and Opportunities in Beijing’s Search for Energy Security

Andrew B. Kennedy, “China’s Petroleum Predicament: Challenges and Opportunities in Beijing’s Search for Energy Security,” in Jane Golley and Ligang Song, eds., Rising China: Global Challenges and Opportunities (Canberra and Beijing: Australian National University and Social Sciences Academic Press, 2011), 121-136.
If China’s rise is one of the most important stories of this new century, China’s […]

22 October 2011

Chinese Navy Hospital Ship Visits Cuba, Caribbean

Jeff Franks, “Chinese Navy Hospital Ship Visits Cuba, Caribbean,” Reuters, 22 October 2011.
HAVANA (Reuters) – A Chinese navy hospital ship called the Peace Ark sailed on Friday into Havana Bay in Cuba, reflecting good relations between the communist allies and China’s expanding global presence.
The 580-foot (178 meters) ship was met by Cuban naval officials in […]

19 October 2011

Profiled with Other “Current Geopolitical Scholars” in Geopolitics: A Guide to the Issues

Bert Chapman, Geopolitics: A Guide to the Issues (Contemporary Military, Strategic, and Security Issues) (New York: Praeger, 2011).
“Current Geopolitical Scholars”
“A number of scholars representing classical and critical geopolitical perspectives are influencing this discipline’s research and analysis while representing disciplinary fields such as geography, history, international economics, military science, and political science.”
Scholars profiled include Thomas P.M. […]

19 October 2011

Advantage: How American Innovation Can Overcome the Asian Challenge

Adam Segal, Advantage: How American Innovation Can Overcome the Asian Challenge (New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2011).
As the United States struggles to emerge from recession, India and China’s continued robust growth is the subject of much interest and concern. In his new book, Advantage: How American Innovation Can Overcome the Asian Challenge, Council […]

19 October 2011

China’s Rise in Historical Perspective

Brantly Womack, ed., China’s Rise in Historical Perspective (Rowman & Littlefield, 2010).
“Stimulating and elegant. This unique book purposefully blends insightful historical analyses and strong present-day commentaries, placing core elements of the phenomenon of contemporary China into very meaningful contexts. This welcome and long-overdue approach will assist a broad readership that seeks to understand both where […]

19 October 2011

The Politics of Nuclear Weapons in South Asia

Bhumitra Chakma, The Politics of Nuclear Weapons in South Asia (London: Ashgate, 2011).
An important and critical re-evaluation of South Asia’s post-tests nuclear politics, in contrast to other books, this volume emphasises the political dimension of South Asia’s nuclear weapons, explains how the bombs are used as politico-strategic assets rather than pure battlefield weapons and how […]

19 October 2011

A Skeptic’s Case for Nuclear Disarmament

Michael E. O’Hanlon, A Skeptic’s Case for Nuclear Disarmament (Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press, 2010).
In 2007 two former U.S. secretaries of state, a defense secretary, and a former senator wrote persuasively in the Wall Street Journal that the time had come to move seriously toward a nuclear-free world. Almost two years later, the Global Zero […]

19 October 2011

The International Politics of the Asia Pacific: Third and Revised Edition (Politics in Asia)

Michael Yahuda, The International Politics of the Asia Pacific: Third and Revised Edition (Politics in Asia) (New York: Routledge, 2011).
This fully revised third edition of Michael Yahuda’s extremely successful textbook brings the region fully up-to-date, introducing students to the international politics of the Asia-Pacific region since 1945, assessing the post-cold War uncertainties that challenged balance […]

19 October 2011

Somalia: The New Barbary?: Piracy and Islam in the Horn of Africa

Martin N. Murphy, Somalia: The New Barbary?: Piracy and Islam in the Horn of Africa (New York: Columbia University Press, 2011).
Somali piracy is repeatedly associated with the historical specter of barbary. The world now fears Somalia has taken on its mantle by becoming a safe haven for terrorists wishing to wreak havoc on civilized societies. […]

19 October 2011

The “People” in the PLA: Recruitment, Training, and Education in China’s Military

Roy Kamphausen, Andrew Scobell, and Travis Tanner, eds., The “People” in the PLA: Recruitment, Training, and Education in China’s Military (Carlisle, PA: U.S. Army War College and National Bureau of Asian Research, 2008).
This volume represents the latest in the series published by the Strategic Studies Institute and describes the advances and reforms the PLA has […]

19 October 2011

Nuclear Proliferation in Northeast Asia: The Quest for Security

Andrew O’Neill, Nuclear Proliferation in Northeast Asia: The Quest for Security (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2007).
The core principle underlying the strategy of nonproliferation – acceptance of a two tier international nuclear order – has become unsustainable. Policy makers and those in the academic world need to turn their attention to exploring new proliferation management strategies […]