David M. Lampton

This is the most comprehensive, in-depth account of how Chinese foreign and security policy is made and implemented during the reform era. It includes the contributions of more than a dozen scholars who undertook field research in the People's Republic of China, South Korea, and Taiwan.

The Making of Chinese Foreign and Security Policy in the Era of Reform

A China scholar analyzes the current U.S.-China relationship, offering thoughtful insights into the considerable barriers preventing both nations from embracing peace.

Managing U.S.- China Relations, 1989-2000

Same Bed, Different Dreams

George and Sadie Hyman Professor of China Studies and Director of the China Studies Program David Lampton

Sai-cheung Yeung

Searches the lives of six top politicians in the post-Mao Zedong era for answers about their paths to power

Elite Mobility in Contemporary China

Paths to Power

Selina Ho

Cheng-Chwee Kuik

In 2013, Chinese President Xi Jinping unveiled what would come to be known as the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)—a global development strategy involving infrastructure projects and associated financing throughout the world, including Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Europe, and the Americas. While the Chinese government has framed the plan as one promoting transnational connectivity, critics and security experts see it as part of a larger strategy to achieve global dominance. Rivers of Iron examines one aspect of President Xi Jinping’s “New Era”: China’s effort to create an intercountry railway system connecting China and its seven Southeast Asian neighbors (Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam). This book illuminates the political strengths and weaknesses of the plan, as well as the capacity of the impacted countries to resist, shape, and even take advantage of China’s wide-reaching actions. Using frameworks from the fields of international relations and comparative politics, the authors of Rivers of Iron seek to explain how domestic politics in these eight Asian nations shaped their varying external responses and behaviors. How does China wield power using infrastructure? Do smaller states have agency? How should we understand the role of infrastructure in broader development? Does industrial policy work? And crucially, how should competing global powers respond?

Railroads and Chinese Power in Southeast Asia

Rivers of Iron

“By learning more not only about China, but from China, America is more likely to sustain a constructive relationship with the rising China. Lampton insightfully provides us with the much-needed guidance.”–Zbigniew Brzezinski, Center for Strategic and International Studies "Professor Lampton's stimulating and well-researched book provides a comprehensive framework for intelligent thinking about the implications for the United States and the world of the rapid expansion of China's economic and military power. Serious students of world affairs and non-specialists concerned about the outlook for U.S.-China relations will all benefit from the historically-based insights and judgments that fill the pages of this thought-provoking volume."—J. Stapleton Roy, former United States ambassador to China

Might, Money, and Minds

The Three Faces of Chinese Power

"Rivers of Iron tells the story of China's unfolding role in realizing the region-wide dream of building an intercountry railway system connecting Southwest China and its seven Southeast Asian neighbors. This system is gradually taking shape with construction of Chinese-backed projects underway in several Southeast Asian countries. Progress is being made. Nonetheless, while the PRC is strong, it is not a goliath bestriding the world, even in this region where China looms over its small and medium-sized neighbors. This book illuminates the strengths and weaknesses of China's demonstration of power during President Xi Jinping's self-styled "New Era" as well as the capacity of its smaller neighbors to resist, shape, and at times even take advantage of China's actions. Utilizing frameworks from the fields of international relations and comparative politics, this book seeks to explain how domestic politics in all eight of the involved nations affects their external behavior. Finally, Rivers of Iron addresses a fundamental development issue in what is emerging globally as a new age of infrastructure--How should we understand the role of infrastructure in development, and how do policy makers and analysts balance the long-term value and prospective gains of investments with the sometimes huge short- and medium-term costs?"--

With unique access to Chinese leaders at all levels of the party and government, best-selling author David M. Lampton tells the story of China’s political elites from their own perspectives. Based on over five hundred interviews, Following the Leader offers a rare glimpse into how the attitudes and ideas of those at the top have evolved over the past four decades. Here China’s rulers explain their strategies and ideas for moving the nation forward, share their reflections on matters of leadership and policy, and discuss the challenges that keep them awake at night. As the Chinese Communist Party installs its new president, Xi Jinping, for a presumably ten-year term, questions abound. How will the country move forward as its explosive rate of economic growth begins to slow? How does it plan to deal with domestic and international calls for political reform and to cope with an aging population, not to mention an increasingly fragmented bureaucracy and society? In this insightful book we learn how China’s leaders see the nation’s political future, as well as about its global strategic influence.

David M. Lampton

Books

Your next favorite book is out there