This book is the first political biography of Aung San Suu Kyi covering both her years in opposition and all her years in power from 2016 onwards. It offers a new interpretation of Aung San Suu Kyi by presenting a balanced and thorough account of Suu Kyi's policies. In the last 30 years there has not been a person in global politics who has risen so high and fallen so low - and so quickly - as Aung San Suu Kyi. Using postcolonial theory and introducing the new concept of `a hybrid politician', this book explains apparent inconsistencies of Suu Kyi's agenda. It demonstrates that Suu Kyi considers herself a democrat and yet, rules autocratically. Immersed in her country's tradition of policymaking, she has at the same time been influenced by foreign concepts, both Western and Asian. Drawing on first-hand research, including talks with Suu Kyi, conversations with her supporters and rivals, observations of Suu Kyi's behaviour during intergovernmental talks as well as an extensive number of sources and fieldwork in Myanmar, the author argues that Suu Kyi's case shows both the strengths and limits of hybridity. This brings Suu Kyi priceless political assets such as visibility, recognition and support while proving that such a model of leadership has its restrictions. A timely biography of the Nobel Peace Prize Laureate as she appears at the International Court of Justice to defend her country against charges of genocide committed against the Rohingya Muslim minority, this book will be of interest to students and researchers of Myanmar politics, Southeast Asian politics, Asian politics, Political Science more generally, Postcolonial Studies, Cultural Studies and Leadership Studies.

This book is the first political biography of Aung San Suu Kyi covering both her years in opposition and all her years in power from 2016 onwards. It offers a new interpretation of Aung San Suu Kyi by presenting a balanced and thorough account of Suu Kyi's policies. In the last 30 years there has not been a person in global politics who has risen so high and fallen so low - and so quickly - as Aung San Suu Kyi. Using postcolonial theory and introducing the new concept of `a hybrid politician', this book explains apparent inconsistencies of Suu Kyi's agenda. It demonstrates that Suu Kyi considers herself a democrat and yet, rules autocratically. Immersed in her country's tradition of policymaking, she has at the same time been influenced by foreign concepts, both Western and Asian. Drawing on first-hand research, including talks with Suu Kyi, conversations with her supporters and rivals, observations of Suu Kyi's behaviour during intergovernmental talks as well as an extensive number of sources and fieldwork in Myanmar, the author argues that Suu Kyi's case shows both the strengths and limits of hybridity. This brings Suu Kyi priceless political assets such as visibility, recognition and support while proving that such a model of leadership has its restrictions. A timely biography of the Nobel Peace Prize Laureate as she appears at the International Court of Justice to defend her country against charges of genocide committed against the Rohingya Muslim minority, this book will be of interest to students and researchers of Myanmar politics, Southeast Asian politics, Asian politics, Political Science more generally, Postcolonial Studies, Cultural Studies and Leadership Studies.

This book depicts the sophisticated relationship between Russia and China as a pragmatic one, a political “marriage of convenience”. Yet at the same time the relationship is stable, and will remain so. After all, bilateral relations are usually based on pragmatic interests and the pursuit of these interests is the very essence of foreign policy. And, as often happens in life, the most long-lasting marriages are those based on convenience. The highly complex, complicated, ambiguous and yet, indeed, successful relationship between Russia and China throughout the past 25 years is difficult to grasp theoretically. Russian and Chinese elites are hard-core realists in their foreign policies, and the neorealist school in international relations seems to be the most adequate one to research Sino-Russian relations. Realistically, throughout this period China achieved a multidimensional advantage over Russia. Yet, simultaneously Russia-China relations do not follow the patterns of power politics. Beijing knows its limits and does not go into extremes. Rather, China successfully seeks to build a longterm, stable relationship based on Chinese terms, where both sides gain, albeit China gains a little more. Russia in this agenda does not necessary lose; just gains a little less out of this asymmetric deal. Thus, a new model of bilateral relations emerges, which may be called – by paraphrasing the slogan of Chinese diplomacy – as “asymmetric win-win” formula. This model is a kind of “back to the past“ – a contemporary equivalent of the first model of Russia-China relations: the modus vivendi from the 17th century, achieved after the Nerchinsk treaty.