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Review Author(s): David B.H. Denoon Review by: David B.H. Denoon Source: Perspectives on Politics, Vol. 8, No. 2 (June 2010), pp. 650-651Published by: American Political Science AssociationStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/25698643Accessed: 11-05-2015 15:23 UTC

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Book Reviews | Asia in World Politics

What I found most compelling about Pepinsky's style, however, was not that he was able to employ so many different types of evidence to bolster his argument. The true benefit of his merger of qualitative and quantitative research is that the book is so much more fun to read.

Pepinsky has written an actual page-turner. I was swept along by the narrative as I learned complex lessons about

political economy I can offer no higher compliment for this engaging piece of scholarship.

China and India in the Age of Globalization. By Shalendra D. Sharma. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2009. 336p. $27.99. doi:10.1017/S153759271000068X

? David B.H. Denoon, New York University

This is a novel contribution to the growing literature on the rise of China and India. Instead of focusing on inter nal changes in these two massive economies, Shalendra Sharmas approach is to analyze how China and India have

adapted to globalization and benefited from their links to international markets. Its theoretical perspective thus cen ters on the globalization process. Sharma also presents extensive empirical data to explain the transformation of these two states once the basic directions of policy were decided.

The strength of the book is in the first four chapters, which concentrate on the transitions these two societies made as their leaders recognized that they needed to move from autarchic, centrally directed economies to ones that relied more on external markets. The book is far less per suasive in Chapters 4 to 8, when it uses this globalization approach to deal with recent foreign policy choices by decision makers in Beijing and New Delhi.

Sharmas initial chapters are important because they pro vide a statistical base for understanding the more recent economic surge, as well as a superb summary of the man made impediments to growth imposed on China and India

by their respective governments in the 1950s and 1960s. Mao Zedong's aspirations for a collectivist society ended in the disaster of the Cultural Revolution. (Because Mao died in 1976, he never saw the sharp shift in policy that his successors implemented). In India, Prime Minister Jawa harlal Nehru's conviction that government should control the "commanding heights of the economy" led to the stran

gulation of entrepreneurial activity as businessmen had to

cope with the "Permit Raj." By showing this in detail

through the presentation of hard data, Sharma also lets the reader see what a truly transforming experience growth has been for China since 1979 and for India since 1991. In China, roughly 400 million people have risen above

poverty in 30 years, and, in India, a middle class of more than 150 million has been created in 20 years.

The author's comparison of the Chinese and Indian

approaches to accelerating growth and adapting to a global

economy is also very informative. As he notes, Deng Xiaop ing had consolidated power by 1978, and he determined

Chinas direction from Beijing, even though the process itself required the creation of greater regional and local

autonomy. The most critical early decision that Deng made was to dispense with the agricultural communes and to use the market as a way to raise rural incomes before the rise of the urban and modern sector.

In India, the process was much slower, started 12 years later, and was constrained by powerful interest groups that

prevented a full liberalization of the economy. Sharma is

optimistic that India will continue on its path to a more

open, competitive economic system, though it remains to be seen if the path toward globalization will continue in India if the international economy loses momentum or there is growing restiveness from the disadvantaged in Indian society.

Yet, what Sharma has done in the first half of his vol ume is to place China and India in a broader theoretical context, noting that even these enormous economies have,

ultimately, accommodated to the international economic scene. Hence, this volume takes work on China and India

beyond country studies and places it in a branch of inter national relations pioneered by Stephan Haggard {Devel oping Nations and the Politics of Global Integration, 1995) and others a decade and one-half ago.

The global integration theme is compelling in describ

ing Chinas economic development strategy and encapsu lates the aspirations of the Indian elite as well. However, it is less effective in explaining recent foreign policymaking by the Chinese and Indians. Both states are already major powers, and their national leadership groups want to

expand their respective national influence on the world

stage. If global integration were the principal objective, nei

ther Beijing nor New Delhi would be consumed with debates about space surveillance, missile modernization, and development of aircraft carrier task forces. Moreover, if economic growth were the dominant objective, China

would drop Pakistan as an ally and focus on India, which is surely the more important market.

It is on these strategic and national security issues that

Chapters 5 to 8 are wanting. Sharmas discussion of Sino Indian relations does address its competitive elements, but the China-Pakistan connection receives only limited com

ment. Likewise, Chinas successful effort to block India's

membership on the United Nations Security Council is

passed over lightly. These are significant problems for the

"globalization" hypothesis because if China really wanted India fully integrated into the world economy and global institutions, Beijing would encourage and not discourage Indian participation in international bodies. Moreover, there is only limited reference to China's

efforts to build a string of naval and air facilities on India's

periphery. Improvements at the multipurpose facility at

650 Perspectives on Politics

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Gwadar in Pakistan, the Hambantota base in Sri Lanka, and the port in Dacca, Bangladesh, are all paid for with Chinese funds, and are a clear indication that Beijing intends to project power into India's current sphere of influence. This effort by the Chinese is a bold warning to India and cannot be dismissed merely as support for port facilities for commercial use.

Likewise, Sharma's review of U.S.-Indian relations tends to focus on the technical aspects of the interaction, rather than its current strategic implications. The George W. Bush administration would never have gone ahead with the July 2005 civilian nuclear agreement if there was not at least a minimal understanding between Washington and New Delhi about strategic interests. These issues are not analyzed sufficiently, nor can they be fit into a theo retical approach that concentrates predominantly on eco nomics and global integration.

Although many aspects of U.S. policy toward Afghan istan and Pakistan have changed since the book went to

press (and will thus not be discussed here), the basic dilemma the United States faces in South Asia has stayed the same and needed more attention in this volume. How can the United States strengthen its ties with India while

simultaneously dealing with the Taliban and Al Qaeda in Pakistan? Due to the focus on global institutions, the book avoids fully addressing critical issues like these.

The final chapter, analyzing long-term relations between China and India, does an admirable job of surveying environmental, energy, and human rights/democracy issues. What it fails to do is note that Sino-Indian rela tions have actually been on a serious decline since the

high point of Prime Minister Wen Jiabao's visit to New Delhi in 2005. Although it is true that President Hu

Jintao has since been to India and Prime Minister Man mohan Singh has been to China, on a whole host of issues the relationship is deteriorating. The Chinese have reraised their territorial claims to Arunachal Pradesh; Bei

jing is now issuing visas separately to residents of Kash mir to distinguish them from other parts of India; there is a blatant competition for influence between India and

China in Burma and much of Southeast Asia; and China is making clear its preference for Asian regional integra tion efforts that exclude India. All of these actions by China and India can be explained quite well by tradi tional balance-of-power politics. These moves are not com

patible with the "global integration" framework that defines this volume.

In sum, this is a carefully documented and informative volume. It identifies the primary factors shaping China's and India's approaches to the global economy, and the

global integration thesis fits well for those activities. Nev ertheless, since both China and India are already major powers and plan to remain, and to behave like, great pow ers, one needs a different theoretical perspective to explain many of their foreign policy choices.

China's Rise and the Two Koreas: Politics, Economics, Security. By Scott Snyder. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner, 2009. 241 p. $22.50. doi:10.1017/S1537592710000691

? David C. Kang, University of Southern California

This book is quite simply the best assessment of the chang ing contemporary relationship between China and the two

Koreas. Scott Snyder, a longtime observer of Chinas rela

tionship with Korea, has produced a work of deep analytic insight and detailed empirical observations. Refusing to

make any facile conclusions, he explores the nature of

economic, political, and cultural relations between China and both South Korea and North Korea. After reading this book, one comes away with a renewed appreciation for the complexities of international relations in North east Asia.

The impact of Chinas economic emergence over the

past three decades has generated intense interest and spec ulation about whether that country's emergence will change regional or even global international relations. Yet, few books have focused on China's relationship with the Korean

peninsula, which is one of the regions where China's impact will be most directly and immediately felt. Indeed, changes in the Korea-China relationship, which few outside the

region understand, are likely to have a worldwide impact. How China and its relations with the Korean peninsula develop will affect the U.S. role in East Asia, the potential for regional economic growth or continued economic inte

gration in East Asia, and the intractable North Korean nuclear issue.

Chinas Rise and the Two Koreas is animated by an endur

ing question in the study of international relations: Does economic interdependence automatically lead to political influence and adjustment? With his case study of Korea

China relations, Snyder shows that it is a mistake to posit a mechanistic link between economic relations and polit ical orientation; instead, economic exchange creates the

potential for political adjustment and evolution. How those

play out is a result of a mix of domestic politics, national interests, and the substantive interactions that take place between countries.

With regards to the Korean peninsula, Snyder argues that China's attempts to leverage its economic importance for political gain have been less than successful, and changes in diplomatic or political relations have been modest at best. While South Korea has clearly reoriened its diplo matic focus to include China as an important partner, it continues to privilege its diplomatic and military relation

ship with the United States. As for North Korea, its eco nomic dependence on China has been accompanied by political alienation from China. Yet, Snyder cautions that U.S. scholars and policymakers also need to realize that China's influence on the Korean peninsula has clearly increased, and that future competition by the United States

June 2010 I Vol. 8/No. 2 651

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Article Contentsp. 650p. 651

Issue Table of ContentsPerspectives on Politics, Vol. 8, No. 2 (June 2010) pp. i-vi, 407-732Front MatterEditor's Introduction [pp. 407-410]Analytic Eclecticism in the Study of World Politics: Reconfiguring Problems and Mechanisms across Research Traditions [pp. 411-431]The Perils of Paradigm Mentalities: Revisiting Kuhn, Lakatos, and Popper [pp. 433-451]Scholasticism in Political Science [pp. 453-464]Offensive Political Theory [pp. 465-486]Weapon of the Strong? Participatory Inequality and the Internet [pp. 487-509]Experimenting in Democracy Promotion: International Observers and the 2004 Presidential Elections in Indonesia [pp. 511-527]ReflectionsBallots and Barricades: On the Reciprocal Relationship between Elections and Social Movements [pp. 529-542]Charles Tilly's Problem Situations: From Class and Revolution to Mechanisms and Contentious Politics [pp. 543-549]Changing Mass Priorities: The Link between Modernization and Democracy [pp. 551-567]

Review SymposiumBeyond the Tragedy of the Commons A Discussion of Governing the Commons: The Evolution of Institutions for Collective Action [pp. 569-593]Collaborative Governance and Civic Empowerment A Discussion of Investing in Democracy: Engaging Citizens in Collaborative Governance [pp. 595-607]

Review EssayLabor and American Politics [pp. 609-616]

Critical DialogueReview: untitled [pp. 617-619]Response to Thomas A. Spragens's review of The Liberals' Moment: The McGovern Insurgency and the Identity Crisis of the Democratic Party [pp. 619-620]Review: untitled [pp. 620-622]Reply to Bruce Miroff's review of Getting the Left Right: The Transformation, Decline, and Reformation of American Liberalism [pp. 622-623]

Book ReviewsAsia in World PoliticsReview: untitled [pp. 625-626]Review: untitled [pp. 626-627]Review: untitled [pp. 627-629]Review: untitled [pp. 629-630]Review: untitled [pp. 630-632]Review: untitled [pp. 632-633]Review: untitled [pp. 633-635]Review: untitled [pp. 635-636]Review: untitled [pp. 637-638]Review: untitled [pp. 638-639]Review: untitled [pp. 640-640]Review: untitled [pp. 640-641]Review: untitled [pp. 642-643]Review: untitled [pp. 643-645]Review: untitled [pp. 645-646]Review: untitled [pp. 646-648]Review: untitled [pp. 648-650]Review: untitled [pp. 650-651]Review: untitled [pp. 651-652]Review: untitled [pp. 652-654]

POLITICAL THEORYReview: untitled [pp. 654-656]Review: untitled [pp. 656-657]Review: untitled [pp. 657-660]Review: untitled [pp. 660-662]Review: untitled [pp. 662-664]Review: untitled [pp. 664-665]Review: untitled [pp. 665-666]Review: untitled [pp. 666-668]Review: untitled [pp. 668-669]Review: untitled [pp. 669-671]Review: untitled [pp. 671-673]

AMERICAN POLITICSReview: untitled [pp. 673-674]Review: untitled [pp. 675-676]Review: untitled [pp. 677-679]Review: untitled [pp. 679-680]Review: untitled [pp. 681-683]Review: untitled [pp. 683-685]Review: untitled [pp. 685-686]Review: untitled [pp. 686-689]Review: untitled [pp. 689-690]Review: untitled [pp. 690-691]Review: untitled [pp. 691-693]Review: untitled [pp. 693-694]Review: untitled [pp. 694-695]

COMPARATIVE POLITICSReview: untitled [pp. 696-698]Review: untitled [pp. 698-699]Review: untitled [pp. 699-700]Review: untitled [pp. 700-702]Review: untitled [pp. 702-704]Review: untitled [pp. 704-705]Review: untitled [pp. 705-706]

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONSReview: untitled [pp. 707-708]Review: untitled [pp. 708-709]Review: untitled [pp. 710-712]Review: untitled [pp. 712-713]Review: untitled [pp. 713-714]Review: untitled [pp. 714-715]Review: untitled [pp. 716-717]Review: untitled [pp. 717-718]Review: untitled [pp. 718-720]Review: untitled [pp. 720-721]Review: untitled [pp. 721-722]Review: untitled [pp. 722-724]Review: untitled [pp. 724-726]Review: untitled [pp. 726-727]Review: untitled [pp. 727-728]Review: untitled [pp. 728-729]

Back Matter