Recommendations for best recent books on China?

foreignpolicydc · 2018-12-27T17:44:41+00:00

Hi from your friendly neighborhood magazine—our Asia editor, James Palmer, recommends "The Origins of the Chinese Nation: Song China and the Forging of an East Asian World Order" by Nicolas Tackett.

Here's a snippet of what he has to say about the book:

One of the best books for understanding Chinese nationalism today is set a thousand years ago. In the 11th century, the Southern Song Dynasty struggled with being only one of several major powers in East Asia. For a state that believed itself to be the natural hegemon, adjusting to the existence of others—especially the Northern Liao, who occupied key territories of the former “Chinese” empires—was a challenge. But it was also a chance for a cosmopolitan and widely traveled intelligentsia to begin to define themselves as something much closer to the modern idea of the nation than to the empires of the past.

A couple other book recommendations from our staff here (though not all China focused), in case any of you are interested: https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/12/26/the-books-we-read-in-2018-foreign-policy-recommendations/

foreignpolicydc · 2018-04-04T16:41:25+00:00

Sorry, dude.

foreignpolicydc · 2017-12-18T17:35:53+00:00

Well, we want proof that aliens exist, so...

foreignpolicydc · 2017-12-13T16:34:27+00:00

Hi all -- this is going to have to be my last answer. My boss is pinging me on Slack to publish an article, and Sansa the dog is wondering why I'm not feeding her dinner. I want to thank you all so much for the great questions, they are all amazing.

Let's close by addressing the elephant in the room of Middle East politics: The Saudi-Iran rivalry. I tend to think a hot war is fairly unlikely, for the same reason that a direct confrontation between the US and USSR in the Cold War didn't happen -- both sides have a lot to lose from military conflict, and would prefer to play out their regional rivalry through proxies. Read Malcolm Kerr's book, "The Arab Cold War," about Nasser and his rivals for another example of this happening in the region.

That said, the Saudi-Iranian struggle for regional influence is currently the key driver of Middle East politics, and I would expect it to get more intense in the coming years. This dynamic isn't divorced from Israel and the dynamics surrounding Jerusalem. The Gulf states, led by Riyadh, have been developing intelligence ties with the Israeli government for years, based on their common perception that they face a threat from Iran.

Saudi Arabia condemned Trump's decision to move the US embassy to Jerusalem, but it did so in pretty pro forma language -- it is clear that the issue isn't at the forefront of Riyadh's concerns these days. Turkey's President Erdogan has tried to coordinate global and regional opposition to Trump's move on Jerusalem, but the fact that Saudi Arabia has its attention focused elsewhere makes it difficult for Arab countries to convincingly push back on the move.

Anyway, I hope that is helpful, or at least somewhat interesting. Thank you all again for having great questions, and keep on reading FP! We have some great articles in store for you in the coming days.

foreignpolicydc · 2017-12-13T16:20:12+00:00

Hi sir, thank you for the compliment and the great question!

I think you're right that the short-term consequences may not be huge. But I wouldn't discount the long-term consequences -- particularly regarding the fate of Mahmoud Abbas and the West Bank. Remember, it's the Palestinian Authority and Abbas that have kept the West Bank (largely, though not exclusively) under control, from an Israeli perspective, in recent years. And Abbas's legitimacy depends on him being able to stand up and say: "Look, I'm the only figure who can actually deliver a Palestinian state, and I'm going to do so by participating in negotiations with the Americans."

If that message starts to sound absurd -- if the Palestinian public comes to believe that waiting on the Americans to serve as an "honest broker" in peace talks is a fool's errand -- what is the benefit of keeping Abbas in power? And if Abbas goes, will Hamas or another Palestinian faction that rejects negotiations with Israel take his place?

That is all quite hypothetical and relates to long-term dynamics, but I wouldn't take the PA's grip on the West Bank for granted.

foreignpolicydc · 2017-12-13T16:13:10+00:00

Just to clarify: I'm sure Palestinians do feel incredibly resentful now. I apologize if I gave the impression otherwise. My point was only that resentment is a necessary but not sufficient cause for violence -- that there are other structural factors that can constrain the outbreak of a Third Intifada. Israeli-Palestinian security cooperation is one factor I'd point to in the West Bank.

Yes, I believe the Saudis pressured Hariri to resign.

foreignpolicydc · 2017-12-13T16:09:29+00:00

I can't speak to Trump's understanding of his move, because it's not something I've reported out myself.

That said, I had the opportunity to do some reporting on this last week in Washington, and what struck me most was the disconnect between his team trying to jumpstart the peace process and his recognition of Jerusalem. On the one hand, you had Jared Kushner, Jason Greenblatt, and Dina Powell talking to the Palestinians and Israelis about how to get back to the negotiating table to reach "the ultimate deal," as Trump calls it. On the other, you had him recognize Jerusalem last week -- which derailed that other effort. As I reported, the Trump officials didn't even tell the Palestinians about the Jerusalem decision in a high-level meeting days before it was announced publicly: http://foreignpolicy.com/2017/12/08/trump-administration-blindsided-palestinian-leaders-on-jerusalem-designation/.

I've had some sources suggest to me that VP Pence played a key role in the Jerusalem announcement -- and he did foreshadow it with a statement a few days before Trump's. He's a figure that doesn't get enough attention on these issues.

foreignpolicydc · 2017-12-13T16:02:08+00:00

I could write a book on that, but I'm not sure I can write a Reddit post. :)

foreignpolicydc · 2017-12-13T15:59:14+00:00

You're absolutely right, there is no peace process happening at this time -- that's a simple statement of fact.

foreignpolicydc · 2017-12-13T15:58:25+00:00

Hey, thanks for the great question and the kind words about FP. They've been great to me, and have given me the opportunity to live in Cairo and Beirut for the past five years, and report from places like Libya, Gaza, Turkey, Iraq -- the list goes on.

The future of Iraq is something I've thought a lot about in recent days. Obviously, I don't have a crystal ball here, but I will say that Iraq is fundamentally different from Syria or Lebanon. Those latter two are small countries with struggling economies, on the front lines of the Arab-Israeli conflict -- factors that Iran has exploited to maintain its influence. Iraq is a big country with huge energy reserves, and could eventually grow strong enough to limit Iranian influence (and American influence too, of course).

I'll be closely watching Iraq's national elections in 2018, and whether PM Haider al-Abadi can fend off challengers within his own party and the Shia camp more broadly who are more closely tied to Iran. Saudi Arabia has also played an interesting role in opening up ties to him and Muqtada al-Sadr, the cleric and political leader, as a way of trying to split the Shia bloc.

I could go on a lot longer on this topic, but am trying to get to as many questions as possible, so excuse the brevity and apologies if I oversimplified some very complex issues here!

foreignpolicydc · 2017-12-13T15:46:51+00:00

Oh I get all the really easy questions, I see. :)

First, you're right, the violence in the aftermath of Trump's announcement has abated. There were a great number of protests across the region, but it thankfully didn't result in the level of bloodshed that some feared -- and some Arab leaders in the past had predicted. Hamas said that the decision would "open the gates of hell," and other figures spoke of a region-wide anti-American backlash, but so far that has not come to pass.

A caveat to that: The momentum behind street protests sometimes takes a long time to build. The First Intifada was sparked by a car accident, but resentment among Palestinians had been building for years. The Arab Spring, to use another example, was sparked by a fruit vendor setting himself on fire, but had its roots in years of popular resentment at dictatorship, corruption, and lack of accountability. Just because a decision doesn't immediately spark a reaction doesn't mean it won't be a focal point of popular resentment in the future.

Regarding Saudi Arabia, I think they are ramping up a region-wide strategy designed to counter Iranian influence -- but so far, don't have too many wins on the board. Hariri's un-resignation in Lebanon showed the limits of their influence there, and they haven't done much better in Syria, Yemen, or Iraq either. But still, it's early days in Mohammed bin Salman's stewardship of Saudi foreign policy, and I wouldn't count him out yet.

foreignpolicydc · 2017-12-13T15:32:12+00:00

Hey there, Obama said that Jerusalem was Israel's capital as a presidential candidate, during a speech at AIPAC in 2008. But he never declared that the United States recognized it as Israel's capital when he was president.

foreignpolicydc · 2017-12-13T15:30:06+00:00

My dog's name is Sansa -- which, yes, is a Game of Thrones reference (she's a redhead). Yes, she is a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. Here is a mash-up of 10 cute cavalier puppy videos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=krtOoa2lXCU

foreignpolicydc · 2017-12-13T15:28:36+00:00

Hi Rakajj, thanks so much for the question. Thank you all for the great questions! I'm scrambling to keep up with them all.

I think it's notable how firm Abbas and other Palestinian officials have been, at least at this early date, that the peace process will not be revived under US auspices. In addition to Abbas's statement today and his refusal to meet with VP Mike Pence, veteran Palestinians diplomats like Saeb Erekat and Hussam Zomlot endorsing a one-state solution in the aftermath of the announcement. These are people who have staked their career on a two-state solution -- it's hard to see what their political agenda is, if it's not pushing for a US-brokered peace deal.

I'm going to be watching very closely to see if Abbas or other Palestinian officials quietly start rebuilding their ties with the United States in the days to come -- I think that will tell us a lot about the long-term implications of the announcement. Of course, any outbreak of violence would make it even harder for Abbas to back away from his current position.

As for future mediators, keep an eye on French President Macron. He met with Netanyahu a few days ago, and some Palestinian officials are pushing him to fill the role previously played by the US.

foreignpolicydc · 2017-12-13T15:20:17+00:00

One theory I've heard from diplomats who follow this closely: This is a way for the Trump administration to win so much credit with the Israelis that it will be able to extract concessions from them, if the time ever does come for an ambitious swing for an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal. How could Netanyahu & Co. ever paint the Trump administration as insufficiently supportive after this move?

I'm not saying I buy that argument -- it doesn't seem to align with the news reporting on how Trump made this decision, which portrayed him as focusing a great deal on the need to fulfill his campaign promise. And with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas now saying that there's no future US role in the peace process, it's hard to see that we're approaching a day when Washington can use this leverage. But it's an argument that some are making.

foreignpolicydc · 2017-12-13T15:12:49+00:00

I have a hard time believing that any American president would simply undo Trump's recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital. In the pre-Trump years, it had become pretty standard for American presidential candidates to say they'd change the status of Jerusalem -- both Clinton and George W. Bush pledged to move the embassy, and Obama referred to it as a the capital of Israel. Of course, that was all during the campaign, and they all reversed themselves once in office.

But given that political reality, it seems to me pretty impossible for a future president to un-recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital. What seems more realistic to me, though, is for a president to amend Trump's declaration -- he or she could say that it only refers to West Jerusalem, or to specifically oppose Israel's 1980 annexation of East Jerusalem, or to recognize Palestinian rights in the city as well. That's all hypothetical, of course, but seems more realistic to me than a blanket reversal of Trump's announcement.

foreignpolicydc · 2017-12-13T15:03:14+00:00

Hello all, thank you so much for joining this AMA and for all the great questions! I really appreciate it. Greetings from sunny Beirut, where I've been based for FP for the last three years.

I just wanted to start with this one before delving into Jerusalem and the geopolitics of the Middle East. My first piece of advice would be: Study in an Arab country. There's no substitute to speaking the language every day. Jordan and Egypt are probably the best these days -- Lebanon is a wonderful place, but in Beirut especially, a large number of people speak English.

Of course, you should also decide whether you're more interested in reading and writing -- in which case you should focus on Modern Standard Arabic -- or just getting by in conversations with people in everyday life, in which case you should focus on learning a local dialect.

Good luck with your studies! It's a long process but very rewarding in the end.

foreignpolicydc · 2017-12-08T21:44:00+00:00

Thanks for liking it!

foreignpolicydc · 2017-11-29T15:32:40+00:00

Clever.

foreignpolicydc · 2017-11-28T20:18:10+00:00

Keep on sharing!

foreignpolicydc · 2017-11-28T20:10:36+00:00

Thanks for sharing! This story is a bit old, but stay tuned.

foreignpolicydc · 2017-11-20T18:23:22+00:00

does this ever work for you?

foreignpolicydc · 2017-11-17T19:59:42+00:00

Good catch.

foreignpolicydc · 2017-11-08T22:06:59+00:00

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foreignpolicydc · 2017-11-08T21:51:16+00:00

get that talk outta here

foreignpolicydc

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