In this thorough, analytical introduction to Asia Pacific's dynamic role in contemporary world politics, Derek McDougall focuses on the region's major state actors—China, Japan, and the US—as well as on the conflicts involving Taiwan and Korea, developments in Southeast Asia, and the influences of Russia, Australia, and a range of international organizations.

McDougall covers a    More >

As the political drive to establish closer ties among Asian governments continues to gain momentum, there has been much debate about the realities of Asian regionalism. Does the community-building activity in fact signal the birth of "Asia Major"? What are the obstacles to integration? And is integration a positive trend for the region and for external actors? Sifting rhetoric from    More >

his original analysis of South Asia's political experience with democracy in the 1990s assumes that, if democratic norms are to be universalized, they must first absorb the interpretations and experiences of the non-Western countries.

Chadda contends that any discussion of democratization must be founded on mapping its course amid the constraints of state consolidation, national integration,    More >

A richly detailed chronicle of a cross-cultural odyssey in the Philippines under U.S. colonial rule.

The son of a Filipino father and a North American (Brooklyn-born) mother, Norman Reyes describes a childhood that was divided between two worlds—a mestizo life shaped by the violent drama of historical events. His fast-paced book builds in tension as the assumed safety of    More >

The hardline view of Sino-Indian relations found in the published reports of Indian and Chinese security analysts is often at considerable odds with the more tempered opinions those same analysts express in private interviews and conversations. What is the reality of the increasingly important security relationship between the two countries? The authors of this new study address that question in    More >

Why does China act as it does in its pursuit of energy security? Are “resource wars” inevitable? Going beyond traditional analyses that focus on China as a regional and global threat, Jean Garrison sheds new light on the roots of the country’s energy policy and the constraints that it faces.

Garrison eschews the zero-sum approaches that underlie much    More >

This fully revised and updated text introduces students to China's foreign policy—past and present—and the factors that may influence the country's future policy agenda. Exploring the new dynamics of China's regional and international roles, the authors outline the political, security, economic, and social issues the country faces in the emerging 21st century.

Each chapter of the    More >

China Opens Its Doors explains and documents the complex relationship between the politics and economics of China's recent "Open Policy," covering the period from 1978 up to the Party Congress of November 1992.

Though emphasizing the political essence of this policy process, Howell also looks at the sociopolitical changes that it has engendered, including its impact on the    More >

China Under Jiang Zemin represents the first major scholarly effort to analyze the evolution of China’s new leadership, taking as its starting point the pivotal Fifteenth Congress of the Chinese Communist Party, held in September 1997.

Proceeding from a detailed portrait of the political landscape at the opening of the Jiang Zemin era, the authors provide rich detail of the    More >

Looking at China's foreign policy, this book focuses on the Confucian-based need of Chinese leaders to present themselves as the supreme moral rectifiers of the world order.

Shih outlines the diplomatic principles cherished by the Chinese—socialism, antihegemonism, peaceful coexistence, statism, and isolationism—and explores how each has been applied in the past forty years. He    More >

Although China denies that it harbors ambitions to become a superpower, its leadership has made clear its intention that the country be a major player in the global arena. Against this backdrop,  Ian Taylor explores the nature and implications of China’s burgeoning role in Africa.

Taylor argues that Beijing is using Africa not    More >

In the face of significant changes in the contemporary geopolitical environment, China's longstanding policy of maintaining a minimal nuclear stockpile may also be shifting. China's Nuclear Future provides a comprehensive overview of both the evolution of China's nuclear policy and the strategic implications of current developments.

The authors examine a full range of    More >

With China now South Korea’s number one trading partner and destination for foreign investment and tourism, what are the implications for politics and security in East Asia?

Scott Snyder explores the transformation of the Sino–South Korean relationship since the early 1990s. Snyder considers the strategic significance of recent developments in China’s relationship    More >

As China strives to achieve nothing less than a “harmonious society”—despite the pronounced and institutionalized class structure that divides rural Chinese from urban, eastern from western, and rich from poor—a key element of that effort is a “new socialist countryside.” Minzi Su assesses the prospects for China’s rural revitalization programs now in    More >

This fresh appraisal of China’s military establishment in transition emphasizes the interplay of domestic and external forces.

Showing how economic, technological, bureaucratic, and international factors have substantially reshaped Chinese military thinking and behavior, the authors question the popular perception of a “China threat.” Their closely reasoned analysis    More >

Departing from characterizations of Asian governments as benevolent overlords and Asian citizens as politically naive and/or docile, Fiona Yap explores the dynamic interactions between state and citizenry in the arena of economic policies.

Yap focuses on the cases of Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan to show that, with the strategic use of activities ranging from    More >

Since its inception in 1987, Korean democracy has been an arena of continual drama and baffling contradictions: periodic waves of societal mobilization and disenchantment; initial continuity in political leadership, followed by the successive election to the presidency of two former opposition leaders and the arrest of two former heads of state; a constant stream of party renamings and    More >

Managing ethnic nationalism within the People's Republic of China has become increasingly challenging. As new reforms widen economic disparities between minorities and the Han majority, even the most assimilated of minorities, the Zhuang, have begun to demand special treatment from the central government.

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officially recognized the sixteen million Zhuang as    More >

Widespread dissatisfaction in Japan in the 1990s set the stage for numerous political reforms aimed at enhancing representation and accountability. But have these reforms in fact improved the quality of Japanese democracy? Through the lens of this question, the authors explore contemporary Japanese politics at the national, local, and grassroots levels. Their systematic analysis of when and how    More >

This broad, historically grounded study examines the relationship between democratic governance and economic development in postindependence India (1947-1998). Sharma addresses the fundamental paradox of India’s political economy: why have five decades of democratically guided strategies failed to reconcile economic growth with redistribution or to mitigate the condition of extreme poverty    More >

As China enters a stage of economic reform more challenging and risky than any that has gone before, the pressure for political liberalization grows apace. This volume explores the dilemmas of this new phase of complex change.

The authors—most of whom write with the insight that comes from having lived and worked within the Chinese system—analyze how the evolution of China’s    More >

Clearly and concisely written, this text provides an accessible, straightforward survey of the most populous countries of East and Southeast Asia—China, Japan, Indonesia, Korea, Vietnam, and Thailand—from the sixteenth century through the mid-1990s.

The concept of "Eastern Asia" is clearly defined for the student, then linked to a discussion of the geographical    More >

Is ASEAN the foundation of a strong regional community in Southeast Asia? Or is it no more than an instrument used by its members to advance their individual interests? Addressing these questions, Shaun Narine offers a comprehensive political analysis of ASEAN from its creation in 1967 through the events of 2001.

Reflecting both the accomplishments and the limitations of the    More >

On March 18, 2000, Taiwan's voters stunned the world by choosing Chen Shui-bian, the candidate of the opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), to be their president. A host of new issues quickly became the subject of debate. What is the DPP? Where did it come from and what does it stand for? How will it use its newly won power? Will it risk war with mainland China in pursuit of    More >

Globalization and Change in Asia explores three decades of adjustment on the part of governments, civil society, and the private sector to the complex new forces of international competition.

Recognizing that the benefits of globalization have not accrued equally to all Asian countries, nor to all stratums of society, the authors seek lessons that can help shape development    More >

Few people are aware that, throughout the British raj, France managed to retain a foothold in parts of India. French India survived for a full fifteen years after the Union Jack was lowered in Delhi, and as a result of French colonization, there remain today, scattered throughout the Union Territory of Pondicherry, thousands of ethnic Indians who still possess French citizenship. The    More >

This study of thirteen of India's leading industrial families pays particular attention to the key decisions, cultural traditions, and personality issues that have contributed to their success. Based on interviews with scholars, journalists, government officials, and the business leaders themselves, the book covers each family business from its founding through its expansion into a large-scale,    More >

The nuclear weapons and ballistic missile tests conducted by India and Pakistan in the late 1990s have substantially altered the security environment, both in the region and globally. Examining the complexities, controversies, and dynamics of this new strategic context, India's Nuclear Security explores India's motivations for becoming a nuclear weapons state, its proposed nuclear and missile    More >

This major compendium identifies the approximately three hundred key institutional resources on international political and economic affairs available throughout the Pacific Basin—in East and Southeast Asia, Australia, Canada, the United States, Mexico, and the Pacific–oriented countries of South America.

Organized by country/region, the Directory highlights each    More >

How have shifts in both the international environment and domestic politics affected the trajectory of Japanese foreign policy? Does it still make sense to depict Japan as passive and reactive, or have the country's leaders become strategic and proactive? Japan in International Politics presents a nuanced picture of Japanese foreign policy, emphasizing the ways in which slow, adaptive    More >

Japan’s navy, after that of the United States, is now the most potent in the Pacific Ocean. This book examines the development and potential of the Japanese navy in the context of the U.S.–Japan alliance.

Woolley presents Japan’s coming of age as a military—primarily naval—power in a series of case studies on sea-lane defense, minesweeping, and participation in UN    More >

Long constrained as a security actor by constitutional as well as external factors, Japan now increasingly is called to play a greater role in stabilizing both the Asia-Pacific region and the entire international system. Japan's Security Agenda explores the country's diplomatic, political, military, and economic concerns and policies within this new context.

Hughes looks closely    More >

On publication in France, Jean-Marie Bouissou's depiction of modern Japan was acclaimed as "the best of its kind." This English-language translation has been updated to cover events through 2001 and augmented with an overview of Japan's pre-1945 historical legacy.

In the tradition of French scholarship—which rejects a narrowly focused approach—the book encompasses all    More >

Experts from around the globe come together in this important peer-reviewed forum to present compelling social science research on the entire East Asia region. Topics include democratic governance, military security, political culture, economic cooperation, human rights, and environmental concerns. Thought-provoking book reviews enhance each issue.

Want more information information on    More >

Uniquely representing all sides in the conflict over Kashmir, this innovative new book provides a forum for discussion not only of existing proposals for ending the conflict, but also of possible new paths toward settlement.

Contributors from India, Pakistan, and Kashmir explore the national and subnational dimensions of the ongoing hostilities, the role of the international    More >

Hilary Tham's memoirs reveal the many images, cultures, myths, and memories out of which her poetry has emerged. Tham recalls a life of many textures: her Chinese ancestry, her family's life in Malaysia, her early education and conversion to Christianity, her university studies, marriage to a U.S. Peace Corps volunteer, and more. Amidst memories of her raffish father and inspired, overworked    More >

What explains the twists and turns in US-China relations since Richard Nixon initiated a policy of engagement in the early 1970s? Addressing this question, Jean Garrison examines the politics behind US China policy across six administrations from Richard Nixon to George W. Bush.

Garrison finds that a focus on the internal decisionmaking process is key to understanding both    More >

Vidhu Verma tracks two simultaneous processes in Malaysia: the increasing aspirations for democratic governance, and the emergence of the Islamic party as a major force in Malaysian politics.

Verma argues that rapid and often forced modernization and development have created severe tensions in contemporary Malaysia, providing Islamist parties with the space to create a    More >

A 2004 Choice Outstanding Academic Book

Islamic extremism in Southeast Asia has moved beyond a matter of local concern to one of global significance—as the events of the past decade have so clearly demonstrated. Drawing on intensive on-the-ground investigation and interviews with key militants, Zachary Abuza explains the emergence of radical Islamist groups in the    More >

Mixed Motives, Uncertain Outcomes looks critically at China's efforts to adapt its vast military- industrial complex to the service of its socialist market economy. The authors—all of whom have witnessed or participated first-hand in the country's defense conversion—offer political, macroeconomic, business, and military perspectives on this complex issue.

The book    More >

Two decades have passed since the introduction of modern rice varieties (MVs) and their accompanying technology in Asia. This volume looks at seven Asian countries—with widely diverse production environments and agrarian and policy structures—to determine to what extent the adoption of MVs only in the irrigated and the favorable rainfed-lowland areas has exacerbated inequalities in    More >

Have the far-reaching political reforms enacted in Japan more than a decade ago succeeded in reducing corruption and the high costs of elections? Or have the results been "business as usual"? Matthew Carlson analyzes the ebb and flow of money in Japanese politics, drawing on extensive fieldwork and detailed campaign-finance data to investigate campaign practices, party strategies, and    More >

This comprehensive, up-to-date bibliography covers nearly 3,000 English-language books and articles on Muslim women throughout the world. Works are listed alphabetically by author, with an extensive index including both geographical and topical headings.

A special feature of the bibliography is its annotated list of the 50 "most highly recommended" books and articles; the result of a    More >

Despite isolation, an impoverished economy, mass starvation, and the challenge of leadership succession, North Korea's socialist state continues to survive. Han Park explores the reasons for this resilience, concentrating on the implications of mass beliefs and political ideology for the country's political life.

Park begins with an examination of Juche, or self-reliance, the    More >

What does democracy look like in Pacific Asia? Can democratic governance in the region survive the challenges of corruption, violence, and soft authoritarianism? What impact are economic pressures likely to have? These are among the broad questions tackled in Pacific Asia in Quest of Democracy, a comparative study of democratic structures and practices in Indonesia, the Philippines, South    More >

Exploring the shifts in Japanese politics in the post-Koizumi era, this up-to-date study offers a comprehensive introduction to Japan’s current party system and political behavior.

The authors assess the contours and implications of the new party politics, with particular attention to new coalitions, the decline of the left, and election finance. They also place the party    More >

Assessing the trajectory of democratization in East Asia, this volume offers a systematic and tightly integrated analysis of party-system development in countries across the region.

The authors utilize unprecedented cross-national survey data to examine the institutional structure of party systems, the range of choices these systems represent, and their connection to voting    More >

The UN intervention in East Timor amply illustrates the type of complex operation that the United Nations increasingly is being asked to undertake. Michael Smith analyzes the successes and failures of the UN Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET), which was designed to work in partnership with the East Timorese in guiding the country to independence following the 1999 vote to secede    More >

How might China become a democracy? And what lessons, if any, might Taiwan's experience of democratization hold for China's future? The authors of this volume consider these questions, both through comparisons of Taiwan's historical experience with the current period of economic and social change in the PRC, and through more focused analysis of China's current, and possible future,    More >

Gordon Means traces the evolution of Islamic politics in Southeast Asia, ranging from the early arrival of Islam in the region to the challenges it generates, and faces, today.

Means’s analysis encompasses both the events and actions shaping Islamic politics and the impact of Islamic politics on government and public policy outcomes. It also offers insightful answers to such    More >

Professors Qu and Li incorporate the results of historical research, current analysis, and forecasting to discuss the relationship between human population and the environment in China. Proposing ways that the PRC can move from vicious to positive cycles, they offer creative recommendations for overcoming the current crisis and promoting development.

A valuable scientific basis for China's    More >

As China's influence rises and the US attempts to retain its primacy in Northeast Asia, the countries of the region are reconsidering their own security needs—and availing themselves of new opportunities. Power and Security in Northeast Asia explores the complexities of current security strategies in the region, revealing motivations and policies not often considered by    More >

Moving from the 1950s to the present, Zachary Abuza explores Vietnamese politics and culture through the lens of the internal debates over political reform.

Abuza focuses on issues of representation, intellectual freedom, the rise of civil society, and the emergence of a "loyal opposition," assessing the prospects for change. He finds that, while some mildly dissident groups may add    More >

This systematic study of China's structural transformation during the past two decades emphasizes the balance-of-power game so ably played by Deng Xiaoping and others among the post-Mao national leadership.

Chen argues that to prevent party cadre opposition to market restructuring—the nemesis of change in other communist states—national leaders manipulated legislative channels and    More >

Third in an acclaimed series, Searching for Peace in Asia Pacific offers critical background information, up-to-date surveys of the conflicts in the region and a directory of some 400 relevant organizations working in the field of conflict prevention and peacebuilding. The authors provide detailed, objective descriptions of ongoing activities, as well as assessments of the prospects for    More >

Continuing a widely acclaimed series, Searching for Peace in Central and South Asia provides critical background information, up-to-date surveys of the violent conflicts in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, the Ferghana Valley, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Tajikistan, and a directory of more than 150 organizations working in the field of conflict prevention and peacebuilding in the    More >

From internal oppression in Burma to interstate conflict in the South China Sea, the people of Southeast Asia face a range of threats. This book identifies and explains the security challenges confronting the region.

Collins addresses the full spectrum of security issues, discussing the impact of ethnic tensions and competing political ideologies, the evolving role of ASEAN, and    More >

At the beginning of the 1980s, Singapore’s public relied largely on a literary diet of traditional British and North American authors. By 1990, however, books by Singaporeans were rapidly replacing imports on the bestseller lists and in the review columns. Singular Stories exemplifies the range of the new Singaporean prose.

The pieces in this diverse collection explore    More >

This fascinating case study focuses on shamanism and the healing practices of the Taman, a formerly tribal society indigenous to the interior of Borneo. The Taman typically associate illness with an encounter with spirits that both seduce and torment a person in dreams or waking life. Rather than use medicines to counter the effect of these discomforting visitors, the shamans—called    More >

What makes a national community out of a state? Addressing this fundamental question, Rajagopalan studies national integration from the perspective of three South Asian communities—Tamilians in India, Sindhis in Pakistan, and Tamils in Sri Lanka—that have a history of secessionism in common, but with vastly different outcomes.

Rajagopalan investigates why integration is relatively    More >

As China's reforms take root, the differences between the traditional value of harmony and the socialist norm of class struggle are becoming increasingly obscured. Chinese citizens are, in fact, theoretically allowed—even encouraged—to be socialist and profit-driven at the same time.

Chih-yu Shih looks at this precarious dyad, demonstrating what reform has done to the country's    More >

As culturally diverse, non-Western communities are drawn into the international division of labor, capitalism takes root in a number of ways. This book describes how capitalism has become a part of the lives of rural Tahitians, starting with the arrival of Westerners to the islands and detailing the nature of the transformation wrought by missionaries, merchants, and French    More >

One of the most critical tasks facing Taiwan's government in the post-Cold War era is the need to reassess its security environment. In this context, Hickey discusses the island's security concerns, the structure and composition of its armed forces, and its defensive strategy. He also explores the opportunities and challenges for Taipei generated by recent transformations in the international    More >

Confounding expectations, Taiwan reduced its military spending for many years even as its sole adversary, the People's Republic of China, modernized its military and significantly increased its defense budget. Michael Chase examines the key factors that have shaped Taiwan's security policy over a span of three decades.

Chase explores both the role of US security assurances in    More >

This comprehensive study provides a detailed analysis of the military buildup in the East Asian countries: China, Taiwan, Japan, and North and South Korea. Hickey assesses the capabilities, strategies, intentions, and performance of each government's military in the context of the potential for regional instability and conflict. In his concluding chapter, he also explores U.S. objectives in the    More >

Focusing on the nexus between global, regional, and national dynamics in Southeast Asia, Jörn Dosch explores the profound political changes that have occurred in recent years both within the region and in its international relations.

Dosch first examines the realm of foreign policy, with an emphasis on the link between democratization and the conduct of foreign affairs.    More >

Ending a two-decade-long armed insurgency, the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) Peace Accord was signed in December 1997 by the government of Bangladesh and the PCJSS, the political representative of the Hill people. However, because of ambiguities within the accord and the failure to implement many of its crucial elements, the situation in the CHT today is far from    More >

This political, and darkly romantic novel centers on Mei Puti, a forty-something" professor of literature, who suffers during the Cultural Revolution because of her heritage as part of the old elite.

These seven stories, dramatic and thought-provoking, provide a compelling picture of Korean life in the 1940s–1990s.

Family and community ties, respect for tradition, survival in the face of repeated national disasters and wrenching social upheaval—these are among the themes evoked in the collection. The narratives make palpable the lives and emotions of characters from many    More >

The multilateral banks are powerful forces in the international community, providing loans of more than $250 billion to developing countries over the last half-century. The best-known of these, the World Bank, has been studied extensively, but the "regional development banks" are little understood, even within their own geographic regions.

This book looks specifically at the policies    More >

Considering the future of U.S.-Korea relations, Edward Olsen first provides a rich assessment of the political, economic, and strategic factors that have shaped—and flawed—U.S. policy toward the Korean peninsula since WWII.

Olsen suggests that the prospect of permanent separation has become integral to U.S. policy toward both Korean states. Offering counterintuitive    More >

This volume deepens analysis of China’s transition from communism and places the Chinese case in comparative and theoretical perspective. Six chapters probe the transition process in the three main sectors of the Chinese party-state—military and police, taxation and investment, and social and cultural policies. Introductory and concluding sections address post-Leninist transitions more    More >

Covering China, Japan, the Koreas, and all of the ASEAN member states, Understanding Contemporary Asia Pacific provides a comprehensive introduction to one of the most complex and rapidly changing regions in the world today.

This accessible, up-to-date volume is designed to be used as a core text for "Introduction to Asia" and "Asian Politics" courses and also as a    More >

The third edition of Understanding Contemporary China retains all the useful features of the previous editions, but has been thoroughly updated to reflect such current issues and challenges as China's dynamic economic growth; its changing social and political culture; its growing international presence as a mediator, investor, and disburser of foreign aid; recent developments in the    More >

Understanding Contemporary India is an interdisciplinary book designed for use both as a core text for "Introduction to India" and "Introduction to South Asia" courses and as a supplement in a variety of discipline-oriented curriculums.

There are few books for classroom use that introduce students to India as a whole, rather than focusing on a specific    More >

Exploring the enduring legacy of untouchability in India, this book challenges the ways in which the Indian experience has been represented in Western scholarship.

The authors introduce the long tradition of Dalit emancipatory struggle and present a sustained critique of academic discourse on the dynamics of caste in Indian society. Case studies complement these arguments, underscoring the    More >

Study after study of women in the Muslim world has focused primarily on Middle Eastern societies, usually emphasizing the sexual ideology of a reified Islam. This book rounds out that view, exploring the status, roles, and contributions of Muslim women not only in the Middle East, but also in Africa and Asia, including post-Soviet Central Asia.

The authors, many of them from the    More >

Gender disparities frequently accompany rapid socioeconomic change, as cultural traditions that protected women—even as they constrained them—collapse in the face of development reforms. This collaborative volume, involving both Asian and U.S. scholars, explores the impact of changes in women’s rights to housing and land in three socialist countries that are moving toward market    More >