Worse Than a Monolith
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Review
I am sure that there will be many who will dispute Christensen's emphasis on alliance politics as the major factor in recent U.S.-Asian diplomatic history. Personally, I find his evidentiary base persuasive and his analysis attractively parsimonious. . . . [A]n intelligent, accessible, and significant work. -- James W. White, American Diplomacy
Christensen both writes well and supports his hypothesis well; the material makes for mesmerizing reading. -- June Teufel Dreyer, Journal of Military History
The [book] is a sumptuous array of original analysis and rich detail, backed up by judicious use of archival and secondary sources in both Chinese and English. . . . [F]or anyone teaching a college-level course on U.S.-East Asia relations or East Asian politics, the book should be required reading. . . . Christensen's Worse than a Monolith is a major contribution to Cold War studies and U.S.-East Asia relations. -- Sung-Yoon Lee, New Global Studies
A great scholarly book is not one that offers ultimate answers to all the questions that it has raised and tried to deal with; it is one that asks meaningful questions and, in coming up with answers to them, serves as a new point of departure for scholarly discussion and intellectual exchange. Christensen's is exactly such a book, and it is in this spirit that I write this review and put forward the above suggestions. This book surely will be read, discussed and, at times, debated by scholars for a long time to come. -- Chen Jian, H-Diplo/ISSF Roundtable Reviews
Christensen's volume greatly enriches our understanding of alliance politics and deterrence in Asia during the Cold War. It is thorough in its research, clear in its presentation, rich in its insight, and thought-provoking in its interpretations. -- Qiang Zhai, H-Diplo/ISSF Roundtable Reviews
Christensen both writes well and supports his hypothesis well; the material makes for mesmerizing reading. -- June Teufel Dreyer, Journal of Military History
The [book] is a sumptuous array of original analysis and rich detail, backed up by judicious use of archival and secondary sources in both Chinese and English. . . . [F]or anyone teaching a college-level course on U.S.-East Asia relations or East Asian politics, the book should be required reading. . . . Christensen's Worse than a Monolith is a major contribution to Cold War studies and U.S.-East Asia relations. -- Sung-Yoon Lee, New Global Studies
A great scholarly book is not one that offers ultimate answers to all the questions that it has raised and tried to deal with; it is one that asks meaningful questions and, in coming up with answers to them, serves as a new point of departure for scholarly discussion and intellectual exchange. Christensen's is exactly such a book, and it is in this spirit that I write this review and put forward the above suggestions. This book surely will be read, discussed and, at times, debated by scholars for a long time to come. -- Chen Jian, H-Diplo/ISSF Roundtable Reviews
Christensen's volume greatly enriches our understanding of alliance politics and deterrence in Asia during the Cold War. It is thorough in its research, clear in its presentation, rich in its insight, and thought-provoking in its interpretations. -- Qiang Zhai, H-Diplo/ISSF Roundtable Reviews
Review
I am sure that there will be many who will dispute Christensen's emphasis on alliance politics as the major factor in recent U.S.-Asian diplomatic history. Personally, I find his evidentiary base persuasive and his analysis attractively parsimonious... [A]n intelligent, accessible, and significant work. -- James W. White, American Diplomacy Christensen both writes well and supports his hypothesis well; the material makes for mesmerizing reading. -- June Teufel Dreyer, Journal of Military History The [book] is a sumptuous array of original analysis and rich detail, backed up by judicious use of archival and secondary sources in both Chinese and English... [F]or anyone teaching a college-level course on U.S.-East Asia relations or East Asian politics, the book should be required reading... Christensen's Worse than a Monolith is a major contribution to Cold War studies and U.S.-East Asia relations. -- Sung-Yoon Lee, New Global Studies A great scholarly book is not one that offers ultimate answers to all the questions that it has raised and tried to deal with; it is one that asks meaningful questions and, in coming up with answers to them, serves as a new point of departure for scholarly discussion and intellectual exchange. Christensen's is exactly such a book, and it is in this spirit that I write this review and put forward the above suggestions. This book surely will be read, discussed and, at times, debated by scholars for a long time to come. -- Chen Jian, H-Diplo/ISSF Roundtable Reviews Christensen's volume greatly enriches our understanding of alliance politics and deterrence in Asia during the Cold War. It is thorough in its research, clear in its presentation, rich in its insight, and thought-provoking in its interpretations. -- Qiang Zhai, H-Diplo/ISSF Roundtable Reviews
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Provocatively argued, well-researched
18 July 2011
Format:Paperback
Worse than a Monolith is a provocatively argued and deeply researched book. It deals primarily with Cold War alliance politics during the years between 1950 and 1979. The author, Thomas Christensen, is a professor at the prestigious Woodrpw Wilson School at Princeton and former Deputy Secretary of State. His basic premise is that when states are utilizing coercive forms of diplomacy (most notably containment) divisions among their adversaries are actually a disadvantage rather than an advantage. He demonstrates this by looking at America's efforts to contain the "revisionist" communist alliance during the Cold War period. Disagreements between Moscow and Beijing often caused the two to try to outdo each other in supporting revolutions such as the one in Vietnam. From the perspective of American policy makers, this made the Communist alliance "worse than a monolith."
After the introduction, in which Christensen lays out his theoretical framework, he spends two chapters describing how poor coordination in both the Communist and Free Worlds created misperceptions on both sides, especially during the Korean War. The fourth chapter covers the mid 1950s when the Sino-Soviet alliance was relatively harmonious and demonstrates how this worked to America's advantage. The fifth and sixth chapters describe how Sino-Soviet rivalry made containing the communist threat more difficult for the United States. Chapter 7 examines the post-Cold War period and looks at how alliances have continued to impact the Sino-American relationship. Finally, the last chapter describes the applicability of Christensen's thesis to other scenarios.
Christensen's research is generally very strong. He is up to date on the secondary source literature and uses a wide array of American and Chinese primary source documents. He does not use the most recent materials to be declassified by the Chinese Foreign Ministry, which deal with the period between 1960 and 1965 but this is likely because these materials first became available when his book was already in press. Some of these could have helped with the few sections of the book that feel a little bit skimpy such as his description of PRC support for the Pathet Lao during the early 1960s.
The final section of the book where Christensen discusses the applicability of his theoretical framework for other case studies is somewhat less persuasive than most other parts of the book. Here, the author doubtless intended to be somewhat speculative. But he might have been better off writing a more focused conclusion that discusses the broader implications of his research for international relations and American diplomacy. Nevertheless, this is a rigorously argued, keenly intelligent books that will interest serious students of the Cold War, American foreign policy, and U.S.-Asian relations.
After the introduction, in which Christensen lays out his theoretical framework, he spends two chapters describing how poor coordination in both the Communist and Free Worlds created misperceptions on both sides, especially during the Korean War. The fourth chapter covers the mid 1950s when the Sino-Soviet alliance was relatively harmonious and demonstrates how this worked to America's advantage. The fifth and sixth chapters describe how Sino-Soviet rivalry made containing the communist threat more difficult for the United States. Chapter 7 examines the post-Cold War period and looks at how alliances have continued to impact the Sino-American relationship. Finally, the last chapter describes the applicability of Christensen's thesis to other scenarios.
Christensen's research is generally very strong. He is up to date on the secondary source literature and uses a wide array of American and Chinese primary source documents. He does not use the most recent materials to be declassified by the Chinese Foreign Ministry, which deal with the period between 1960 and 1965 but this is likely because these materials first became available when his book was already in press. Some of these could have helped with the few sections of the book that feel a little bit skimpy such as his description of PRC support for the Pathet Lao during the early 1960s.
The final section of the book where Christensen discusses the applicability of his theoretical framework for other case studies is somewhat less persuasive than most other parts of the book. Here, the author doubtless intended to be somewhat speculative. But he might have been better off writing a more focused conclusion that discusses the broader implications of his research for international relations and American diplomacy. Nevertheless, this is a rigorously argued, keenly intelligent books that will interest serious students of the Cold War, American foreign policy, and U.S.-Asian relations.
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