Overreach: How China Derailed Its Peaceful Rise

by Susan L. Shirk Narrated by Teri Barrington

Overview

For three decades after Mao's death in 1976, China's leaders adopted a restrained approach to foreign policy. To facilitate the country's inexorable economic ascendance, and to prevent a backlash, they reassured the outside world of China's peaceful intentions.



Then, as Susan Shirk shows, something changed. China went from fragile superpower to global heavyweight. Combining her decades of research and experience, Shirk, one of the world's most respected experts on Chinese politics, argues that we are now fully embroiled in a new cold war.



As she shows, the shift toward confrontation began in the mid-2000s under the mild-mannered Hu Jintao. When Xi Jinping took power in 2012, he capitalized on widespread official corruption and open splits in the leadership to make the case for more concentrated power at the top. Those who implement Xi's directives compete to outdo one another, provoking an even greater global backlash and stoking jingoism within China on a scale not seen since the Cultural Revolution.



Here is a devastatingly lucid portrait of China today. Understanding the domestic roots of China's actions will enable us to avoid the mistakes that could lead to war.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

"Complete with 64 pages of notes and a 15-page Index, her new book (which includes a fine analysis of the hot-button issues of Hong Kong and Taiwan) is an accessible and detailed account of where we have been with China, and how we got to this difficult state of affairs." — Dr. Cliff Cunningham, Research Fellow at the University of Southern Queensland in Australia, Sun News Austin

"Susan Shirk's superb new book addresses the singular question echoing in the corridors of political and commercial power: why is China asserting itself in ways that upset global order? Drawing on decades of experience, Shirk answers it with insights drawn from myriad sources. Overreach is an essential read for anyone seeking to understand where China is going—and what America must do in response." — Kurt Campbell, White House Coordinator for the IndoPacific

"A fascinating, behind-the-scenes investigation of China's internal politics that makes the unconventional but ultimately persuasive argument that the personalities, politics, and processes that have powered China's rise for decades are simultaneously subverting it. With Overreach, Shirk proves yet again why she is one of the most interesting thinkers and important voices on China of our time." — Elizabeth Economy, author of The World According to China

"In this timely and important book, Susan Shirk dissects the nature of China's emerging threat, driven by growing aggressiveness in foreign policy and Xi Jinping's tightening domestic grip. Overreach, she warns in jargon-free prose, has triggered an equally self-defeating overreaction from America, and without a dramatic change in policy could lead to war." — Jerry Brown, former governor of California

"Susan Shirk has both long experience and a deep understanding of China. Overreach offers an illuminating and sobering appraisal of where things stand today. It masterfully explains why China has taken its current worrisome course and offers invaluable advice as to how the United States should respond. An authoritative look at China in this critical movement in history." — Stephen J. Hadley, former National Security Advisor for President George W. Bush

"Susan Shirk's masterful dissection of China's political leadership reveals a Party-state in near-constant struggle against perceived threats, creating a vicious policy cycle for the country and its partners. As Shirk's brilliant analysis shows, this dynamic upends global stability and China's vaunted peaceful rise." — Charlene Barshefsky, former United States Trade Representative

"The book includes excellent access to sources and endnotes that support Shirk's analysis." — Choice

Kirkus Reviews

2022-06-25
A key observer of China provides a detailed account of that nation’s political transformation under its current leaders.

Shirk, who has been studying China for several decades, served as deputy assistant secretary of state in the Bureau of East Asia and Pacific Affairs during the Clinton administration, and her 2007 book, China: Fragile Superpower, was highly influential. The author builds on the earlier volume but focuses on how China has changed in the past decade. The key player has been Xi Jinping, who replaced the mild-mannered Hu Jintao and has exploited leadership divisions to dispense with the tradition of collective rule and entrench himself as leader-for-life. The governing class enthusiastically backed Xi, concluding that democracy, even if only at the local level, would eventually be a threat to their power and privileges. There has long been a stream of Chinese thinking that envisions the country’s destiny as being the preeminent global power, but it was the economic boom that provided the strength to effectively shape its foreign policy. Under Xi, China began to throw its weight around, especially over Hong Kong and the South China Sea. This was the point of overreach, writes Shirk, as Xi and his administration failed to realize that the rest of the world was not going to accept Chinese dominance—at least not without significant push back. To improve China’s reputation, Shirk offers advice to Xi, such as opening a dialogue with Taiwan and closing the internment camps in Xinjiang. Given the current state of the Chinese government, these moves are highly unlikely, making them odd inclusions in a text about how China’s leaders are intent on gathering ever more power into their hands. Perhaps Shirk simply wanted the book to end on a hopeful note. While dauntingly detailed in spots, the book is the work of an expert on the subject and should be useful for policymakers.

An authoritative account of how China is seeking to become the world’s dominant power.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940178021668
Publisher:	Tantor Audio
Publication date:	05/09/2023
Edition description:	Unabridged

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