Quo Vadis China?

Reviewed publication:
Shao Binhong. 2013. China and the World: Balance, Imbalance, Rebalance, Leiden/Boston: Brill, Series: ‘China in the World: A Survey of Chinese Perspectives on International Politics and Economics’, Volume 1, ISBN 9780739178508

The discussion of China’s growing prominence in international life attracts increasing attention from publics, policy-makers, and scholars alike. Usually sidelined by the mainstream, such interest in China’s roles and attitudes on the world stage has grown exponentially in the context of the deepening concomitant economic, social, political crises across Europe and North America – which, until very recently, have been considered the traditional locales of powers and influence in world politics. Indicative of the emergent weight and significance of non-Western actors on the global stage, the trend set by China seems to challenge the conventional frameworks of both the study and practice of International Relations (IR).