The Beijing Consensus: Legitimizing Authoritarianism in Our Time

by Stefan Halper

Overview

Beijing presents a clear and gathering threat to Washington -- but not for the reasons you think. China's challenge to the West stems from its transformative brand of capitalism and an entirely different conception of the international community. In The Beijing Consensus, a leading expert in international relations presents a coherent integration of the many sides of U.S.-China relations.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780465028269
Publisher:	Basic Books
Publication date:	02/07/2012
Sold by:	Hachette Digital, Inc.
Format:	eBook
Pages:	336
File size:	1 MB
Age Range:	13 - 18 Years

About the Author

Stefan Halper is a Senior Fellow in the Department of Politics and International Studies at the University of Cambridge, and a Distinguished Fellow at the Nixon Center in Washington, D.C. Halper served in the White House and Department of State during the Nixon, Ford, and Reagan administrations. He divides his time between Great Falls, Virginia, and Cambridge, UK.

Editorial Reviews

Halper cogently rejects the “conventional wisdom” that suggests America’s relationship with China is “on track” in this lucid, probing text. Moving beyond approaches to China that focus on its burgeoning economic dominance, the book—in the vein of Martin Jacques’s recent When China Rules the World—underscores the political and cultural challenge that a rising China presents. Halper (coauthor of America Alone), a fellow at the University of Cambridge, contends that there is little possibility of a genuine partnership between China and the U.S.; continued growth will not lead China’s political system to become any more free or open, and its brand of authoritarian capitalism will compete with the West’s democratic ideal as a possible model for the developing world. Though his position may seem pessimistic, the author does believe that China’s concern with its prestige in the world gives the United States leverage in its attempt to shape the geopolitics, and he concludes this sobering, excellently argued book with a series of concrete policy recommendations to that end. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly