The idea of only one way leading to a modern society seems to be hardly tenable. But even if we agree to this, our theories and terms describing modernization are gained on our own Western history. So social science has to reconsider its basic terms to describe China’s modernization, and maybe even the understanding of modernization itself. The second of two volumes on China’s modernization collects articles by leading Chinese and Western scientists focusing on the main conflicts and differences this process involves. In the first section – “On Contemporary Theory of Modernization” – Manussos Marangudakis represents Shmuel N. Eisenstadt’s concept of “Multiple Modernities and the Theory of Indeterminacy”, one of the best elaborated perspectives on modernity. “Changing China: Dealing with Diversity”, the second section, examines how China copes with dissent and discusses the significance of law and a civil society. Merle Goldman begins with “Dissent of China’s Public Intellectuals in the Post-Mao Era”. The “Modernization of Law in China – its Meaning, Achievements, Obstacles and Prospect” is the subject of Qingbo Zhang. Scott Wilson presents a Gramscian analysis of civil society in “China’s State in the Trenches”. And Francis Schortgen and Shalendra Sharma study how China is “Manufacturing Dissent: Domestic and International Ramifications of China’s Summer of Labor Unrest”. “Neoliberalism and the Changes in East Asian Welfare and Education” is the focus of the third section. Beatriz Carrillo Garcia investigates the “Business Opportunities and Philanthropic Initiatives” in China. “Time, Politics and Homelessness in Contemporary Japan” is the subject of Ritu Vij. Different school books show the “Educational Modernisation Across the Taiwan Straits” by David C. Schak. And Ho-fung Hung discusses the role of China in globalization following the question: “Is China Saving Global Capitalism from the Global Cri-sis?” The additional rubric “On Contemporary Philosophy” involves three articles about “International Development, Paradox and Phronesis” by Robert Kowalski, “The World in the Head” by Robert Cummins, and “Communication, Cooperation and Conflict” by Steffen Borge. Content and abstracts: www.protosociology.de

Extensively revised and fully updated in this fifth edition, this popular textbook conveys the drama of China's struggle to modernize against the backdrop of a proud and difficult history. It features new analysis of the issues facing China’s fifth generation of leaders, including the current economic climate, China's relations with its neighbors and the United States, the latest Tibetan crisis, and the election of Xi Jinping. Incorporating new analytical summaries in each chapter and updated suggested readings, this new edition covers: The breakdown of imperial China in the face of Japanese and Western encroachments The early struggles between the ideologies and armies of Chiang Kai-shek and Mao Zedong China's bitter and costly war with Japan The Chinese Communist Party’s successes during the 1950s Mao Zedong’s turbulent and tragic Great Leap Forward and Cultural Revolution Deng Xiaoping’s far-reaching reforms that resulted in the dismantling of socialism and China’s dramatic economic growth The triumphant hosting of the 2008 summer Olympics and China’s emergence as a world power. Spanning the years from China's defeat in the Opium Wars to its current status as a potential superpower, the fifth edition of Modernization and Revolution in China is essential reading for courses on Modern Chinese History, Chinese Politics and Modern East Asia.

Extensively revised and updated, this popular text conveys the drama of China's struggle to modernize against the backdrop of a proud and difficult history. Spanning the years from China's humiliating defeat in the Opium Wars to its triumphant hosting of the 2008 summer Olympics, the authors narrate the major developments of that journey: the breakdown of imperial China in the face of Japanese and Western encroachments; Sun-Yatsen and the founding of the Chinese republic; the early struggles between the ideologies and armies of Chiang Kai-shek and Mao Zedong; China's bitter and costly war with Japan; the final shootout that sent Chiang to Taiwan and Mao to Beijing; the turbulent first decades of the People's Republic; and the dramatic shift to a globalizing economic strategy. This edition features all new analysis of issues facing China's leaders today, including environmental challenges, rural economic developments, corruption, the current economic climate, China's relations with its neighbors and the United States, the latest Tibet crisis, and the reelection of Hu Jintao. The authors have also incorporated some of the latest scholarship on Chinese historical events, making this the best and most up-to-date brief text on modern China currently available.

This book provides an all-round analysis and exploration of the course, status quo and future of the Chinese Government's governance reform under the framework of government governance modernization. The authors bring their decades of experience in crafting policy in China to explain the relationship between China's government and market, between government and society, between the central government and local governments, functional transformation, organizational structure optimization, reform of public institutions, allocation of fiscally supported personnel, the building of a law-based government and other major issues, while also laying out a case for structural changes in the years to come.

China’s emergence as a global economic superpower, and as a major regional military power in Asia and the Pacific, has had a major impact on its relations with the United States and its neighbors. China was the driving factor in the new strategy the United States announced in 2012 that called for a “rebalance” of U.S. forces to the Asia-Pacific region. At the same time, China’s actions on its borders, in the East China Sea, and in the South China Sea have shown that it is steadily expanding its geopolitical role in the Pacific and having a steadily increasing impact on the strategy and military developments in other Asian powers.

China's rise to global economic and strategic eminence, with the potential for achieving pre-eminence in the greater-Asian region, is one of the defining characteristics of the post-Cold War period. This work offers a basic understanding of the military-strategic basis and trajectory of a rising China, provides background, and outlines current and future issues concerning China's rise in strategic-military influence. The next decade may witness China's assertion of military or strategic pressure on Japan, the Korean Peninsula, India, the South China Sea, the Taiwan Strait, Central Asia, or even on behalf of future allies in Africa and Latin America. While conflict is not a foregone conclusion, as indicated by China's increasing participation in many benign international organizations, it is a fact that China's leadership will pursue its interests as it sees them, which may not always coincide with those of the United States, its friends, and allies. Until now, no single volume has existed that provides an authoritative, comprehensive, and concise description of China's evolving geo-strategy or of how China is transforming its military to carry out this strategy. Fisher examines how China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) remains critical to the existence of the Chinese Communist government and looks at China's political and military actions designed to protect its expanded strategic interests in both the Asia-Pacific and Central to Near-Asian regions. Using open sources, including over a decade of unique interview sources, Fisher documents China's efforts to build a larger nuclear force that may soon be protected by missile defenses, modern high technology systems for space, air, and naval forces, and how China is now beginning to assemble naval, air, and ground forces for future power projection missions. His work also examines how the United States and other governments simultaneously seek greater engagement with China on strategic concerns, while hedging against its rising power. Although China faces both internal and external constraints on its rise to global eminence, it cannot be denied that China's government is pursuing a far-reaching strategic agenda.