For well over two hundred years we have lived in a western-made world, one where the very notion of being modern is inextricably bound up with being western. The twenty-first century will be different. The rise of China, India and the Asian tigers means that, for the first time, modernity will no longer be exclusively western. The west will be confronted with the fact that its systems, institutions and values are no longer the only ones on offer. The key idea of Martin Jacques's ground-breaking new book is that we are moving into an era of contested modernity.

The central player in this new world will be China. Continental in size and mentality, China is a 'civilisation-state' whose characteristics, attitudes and values long predate its existence as a nation-state. Although clearly influenced by the west, its extraordinary size and history mean that it will remain highly distinct, and as it exercises its rapidly growing power it will change much more than the world's geo-politics. The nation-state as we understand it will no longer be globally dominant, and the Westphalian state-system will be transformed; ideas of race will be redrawn. This profound and far-sighted book explains for the first time the deeper meaning of the rise of China.

Print length

576 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Allen Lane
Publication date

25 Jun. 2009
Dimensions

16.2 x 3.8 x 24 cm
ISBN-10

0713992549
ISBN-13

978-0713992540
See all details

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Product description

From the Inside Flap

For over two hundred years we have lived in a western-made world, one where the very notion of being modern was synonymous with being western. This original and ground-breaking new book argues that the twenty-first century will be different. With the rise of increasingly powerful non-Western countries, the west will no longer be dominant and there will be many ways of being modern. In this new era of 'contested modernity' the central player will be China.

Far from becoming a western-style society, China will remain highly distinctive. Continental in size and mentality, and accounting for one-fifth of humanity, China is a 'civilization-state' whose characteristics, attitudes and values long predate its existence as a nation-state. China is already having a far-reaching and much discussed economic impact, but its influence will be far greater than this: China's rise signals the end of the global dominance of the western nation-state and the rise of a world which it will shape in a host of different ways. As it rapidly reassumes its traditional position at the centre of East Asia, the old tributary system will be resurface in a modern form, contemporary ideas of racial hierarchy will be redrawn and China's ages-old sense of superiority will reassert itself. China's rise will change the world as we know it, from one made in the west to one increasingly shaped by China.

This profound and far-sighted book explains for the first time the deeper meaning of China's arrival as a global power.

About the Author

Martin Jacques is currently a visiting research fellow at the London School of Economics Asia Research Centre. He has recently been a visiting professor at Remnin University, Beijing, the International Centre for Chinese Studies, Aichi University and at Ritsumeikan University, Kyoto, and was a senior visiting research fellow at the Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore. He was editor of the highly respected journal Marxism Today until its closure in 1991. He was founder of the UK think-tank Demos, has been a columnist for The Times and the Sunday Times and was deputy editor of the Independent. He currently writes a regular column for the Guardian. He is the co-editor and co-author of The Forward March of Labour Halted? (1981), The Politics of Thatcherism (1983) and New Times (1989).

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Allen Lane (25 Jun. 2009)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 576 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0713992549
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0713992540
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 16.2 x 3.8 x 24 cm

Best Sellers Rank: 744,378 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- 127 in History of East Asia
- 1,331 in History of China
- 2,216 in Economic History (Books)

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Amazonian

Good but take with pinch of salt

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 10 October 2020

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Its a good book, if you can overlook the notable anti-western, Chinese nationalistic bias. For example, Mao the greatest mass murderer in history, is airbrushed as a man whose "great achievement" was Chinese unity. Likewise, Great Britain and the United States are described as "predators". The Industrial revolution in Britain attributed merely to Britain having access to "coal supplies" and colonies. This bias notwithstanding, there is a lot of interesting information, and it is worth reading.

7 people found this helpful

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J G Desa

An excellent eye-opening read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 14 August 2020

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The author takes us through how the West has been blinkered to the rise of China and how closely it's economic rise is linked to the consistency of its governance and its ability to match it's long-term strategic plan; and paradoxically how the flip flopping of governments in the West has resulted in short term policies with a lack of forward thinking. The book is written in an easily digestible and coherent fashion that was hard to put down. The author paints a picture of a future to that will be more China centric with diminishing reliance on America. Much of what is detailed has already transpired.

2 people found this helpful

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Extremely Good

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 3 May 2018

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Very well researched and not to demanding a read. If anything with Trump's America going protectionist and looking increasingly inward, Jacques' timescales are looking too conservative.

5 people found this helpful

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Chris Williams

An interesting perspective on International Relations with China. I ...

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 29 December 2016

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An interesting perspective on International Relations with China. I read this as some additional reading in an Open University module and it gave me some food-for-thought that supported and enhanced other learning.

4 people found this helpful

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Davidicus

Time to start learning Mandarin

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 9 November 2012

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A detailed, authoritative and persuasive account of the economics of emerging China. Having just visited the country for the first time I thought this was a "must read", and didn't regret it. It is a long book requiring commitment but, starting with the rise of is called "modernity" in the second half of the 18th century, it is an enlightening and rewarding read. I would recommend it to anyone with a serious interest in international current affairs.

7 people found this helpful

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MLAbrahams

Fascinating

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 8 November 2012

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Absolutely fascinating - and clearly written too. I get the feeling from time to time that Mr.Jacques is not exactly fitting the facts to his theories but that facts which might lead to querying of his views are played down or glossed over. But that is just a reader trying to retain his critical faculty while devouring a completely new (to him) subject. There is nonetheless much to value in the book and the knowledge it imparts - and I'm only a quarter of the way through what is an epic read! Do try it yourselves.

3 people found this helpful

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nogbad

When China Rules the World

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 10 February 2013

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A requested purchase for a Christmas Present and I am told that the recipient(my Son) has found much of the content a great use as he is about to start working with Chinese Companies as a subcontractor. Should be read by Politicians( always assuming they want to know something useful), before they get anywhere near trading negotiations.

One person found this helpful

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Mark McGrane

A flawed if interesting, provocative book

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 16 March 2021

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A book you're unlikely to agree with in full but nonetheless very interesting. Insufficient focus on issues which may hinder China's ability to 'rule the world' but nonetheless states their strengths very forcefully

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When China Rules The World: The Rise of the Middle Kingdom and the End of the Western World [Greatly updated and expanded] Hardcover – 25 Jun. 2009

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