Can China and the United States bridge their political differences? Are those differences as large as conventional wisdom suggests? Thirty years after formal U.S.-Chinese diplomatic relations were established, A Bridge Too Far? addresses these essential questions by bridging the academic divide separating scholars who study these countries from Chinese and Western political science perspectives. Rather than bringing together China specialists exclusively, then, this book allows a broad range of scholars using Western analytical tools to examine Chinese politics and political theory in relation to the United States. It also allows Chinese scholars to examine specific policy areas related to countries and thereby confirm or contest the broader analysis offered by their outsider counterparts. Some of the contributors are Chinese specialists, a number having played key roles as advisors to the central government, others students of American politics, and stilll others political economists or political theorists who are not involved directly in area studies. Finally, some are academically trained but work in China in the area of environmental regulation or are legal advisors for state-owned businesses. In all, the contributors bring extensive experience with China, and all see commonalities beneath the obvious and deep differences between the two nations. Emerging from an ongoing face-to-face dialog, the book unites this unusual group to uncover genuine areas of overlap between the politics of the two nations without diminishing the very real distance separating them. The essays included discuss topics such as China's democratic prospects and the rise of local village elections, the role of interest groups, Chinese political and legal reforms and developments regarding intellectual property rights and environmental regulation, Western and Chinese political philosophy, and Sino-American foreign policy interactions.

For many years, political leaders and analysts have debated the impacts of China's rise on the stability of the existing international system. International observers have also debated whether China would be a status quo power or a revisionist power, and whether China would observe the rules and regulations of international institutions and regimes. China Joins Global Governance: Cooperation and Contentions, edited by Mingjiang Li, provides an insightful contribution to our understanding of these issues through a specific angle: China's role in global governance. The contributors to this volume address such questions as, how has China dealt with major global institutions and regimes? How has China helped address various global challenges? How is China's rise changing the international approach to global governance? The contributors cover a broad range of issues, including China's vision and strategy in global multilateralism, China's role in global economic/financial/trade governance, China's policy towards the global environment and international development, and China's approaches to various global security issues such as nuclear disarmament and nonproliferation. China Joins Global Governance is an essential text in understanding the future trajectory of China's international policy.

This book intends to make sense of how Chinese leaders perceive China's rise in the world through the eyes of China's international relations (IR) scholars. Drawing on a unique, four-year opinion survey of these scholars at the annual conference of the Chinese Community of Political Science and International Studies (CCPSIS) in Beijing from 2014-2017, the authors examine Chinese IR scholars' perceptions of and views on key issues related to China's power, its relationship with the United States and other major countries, and China's position in the international system and track their changes over time. Furthermore, the authors complement the surveys with a textual analysis of the academic publications in China's top five IR journals. By comparing and contrasting the opinion surveys and textual analyses, this book sheds new light on how Chinese IR scholars view the world as well as how they might influence China's foreign policy.

Based on the field investigation and the summary of the published research results of the April 20, 2013, Lushan, Sichuan, China, MS7.0 earthquake, having occurred along the same fault zone which accommodated the May 12, 2008, Wenchuan MS8.0 earthquake, this Brief tries to describe and discuss the special earthquake phenomenology associated with both the local geology and the changing society. Since the occurrence of this earthquake, there have been the scientific debates on (1) the seismo-tectonics of this earthquake which has no primary seismic fault discovered on the surface of the ground; (2) the relation between this earthquake and the Wenchuan earthquake (i.e., whether it can be considered as one of the aftershocks); and (3) how well have been accomplished in the reduction of earthquake disasters, 5 years after the Wenchuan earthquake. This Brief also tries to introduce the studies and practice of Chinese seismological agencies for the reduction of earthquake disasters. Due to language and cultural barriers, such an introduction makes sense not only for English readers but also for Chinese readers. For example, people (abroad) are always asking why there are so many Chinese seismologists working on earthquake prediction. In fact the Chinese wording 'earthquake prediction' has a much wider coverage than that in English. And actually the Chinese approach to (time-dependent) seismic hazard has no systematic difference from outside world in its methodology.

Token forces - tiny national troop contributions in much larger coalitions - have become ubiquitous in UN peacekeeping. This Element examines how and why this contribution type has become the most common form of participation in UN peace operations despite its limited relevance for missions' operational success. It conceptualizes token forces as a path-dependent unintended consequence of the norm of multilateralism in international uses of military force. The norm extends states' participation options by giving coalition builders an incentive to accept token forces; UN-specific types of token forces emerged as states learned about this option and secretariat officials adapted to state demand for it. The Element documents the growing incidence of token forces in UN peacekeeping, identifies the factors disposing states to contribute token forces, and discusses how UN officials channel token participation. The Element contributes to the literatures on UN peacekeeping, military coalitions, and the impacts of norms in international organizations.

For many years, political leaders and analysts have debated the impacts of China's rise on the stability of the existing international system. International observers have also debated whether China would be a status quo power or a revisionist power, and whether China would observe the rules and regulations of international institutions and regimes. China Joins Global Governance: Cooperation and Contentions, edited by Mingjiang Li, provides an insightful contribution to our understanding of these issues through a specific angle: China's role in global governance. The contributors to this volume address such questions as, how has China dealt with major global institutions and regimes? How has China helped address various global challenges? How is China's rise changing the international approach to global governance? The contributors cover a broad range of issues, including China's vision and strategy in global multilateralism, China's role in global economic/financial/trade governance, China's policy towards the global environment and international development, and China's approaches to various global security issues such as nuclear disarmament and nonproliferation. China Joins Global Governance is an essential text in understanding the future trajectory of China's international policy.