
China the Pessoptimist Nation
The Pessoptimist Nation
William A. Callahan(Author)
Oxford University Press
Published on 19. November 2009
Book
Hardback
288 pages
978-0-19-954995-5 (ISBN)
Description
The rise of China presents a long-term challenge to the world not only economically, but politically and culturally. Callahan meets this challenge in China: The Pessoptimist Nation by using new Chinese sources and innovative analysis to see how Chinese people understand their new place in the world. To chart the trajectory of its rise, the book shifts from examining China's national interests to exploring its national aesthetic. Rather than answering the standard social science question "what is China?" with statistics of economic and military power, this book asks "when, where, and who is China?" to explore the soft power dynamics of China's identity politics. China: The Pessoptimist Nation shows how the heart of Chinese foreign policy is not a security dilemma, but an identity dilemma. Through careful analysis, Callahan charts how Chinese identity emerges through the interplay of positive and negative feelings in a dynamic that intertwines China's domestic and international politics. China thus is the pessoptimist nation where national security is closely linked to nationalist insecurities.
Callahan concludes that this interactive view of China's pessoptimist identity means that we need to rethink the role of the state and public opinion in Beijing's foreign policy-making.
Callahan concludes that this interactive view of China's pessoptimist identity means that we need to rethink the role of the state and public opinion in Beijing's foreign policy-making.
Reviews / Votes
This provocative books uses not only a new analytical framework for studying Chinese political culture... As a significant contribution to the understanding of political culture and how it is related to contemporary international relatiions, this book will surely generate more discussion on the subject matter. Shiping Hua, The Journal of Asian Studies 70/1 d China: The Pessoptimist Nation is a courageous book ... [about] Chinese foreign policy that is both timely and likely to stand the test of time. Peter Hays Gries, The China Quarterly an in-depth analysis of how perceptions and narratives of Chinese identity have shaped intellectual and popular discourses on China's security and insecurity...this study makes a significant contribution to the literature focusing on the ideational and societal dimensions of Chinese foreign policy. Rex Li, Times Higher Education SupplementMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
Oxford
United Kingdom
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
37 illustrations
Dimensions
Height: 242 mm
Width: 163 mm
Thickness: 19 mm
Weight
638 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-19-954995-5 (9780199549955)
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Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Person
Author
Professor of International Politics and China Studies, University of Manchester Co-Director, British Inter-university China Centre, Oxford
Content
Figure List; Preface; Acknowledgments; 1. Introduction: Soft Power, Pessoptimism and the Rise of China; 2. When is China? (I): Patriotic Education and the Century of National Humiliation; 3. When is China? (2): Producing and Consuming National Humiliation Days; 4. Where is China? The Cartography of National Humiliation; 5. Who is China? (1): Foreign Brothers and Domestic Strangers; 6. Who is China? (2): Trauma, Community and Gender in Sino-Japanese Relations; 7. Conclusion: How To Be Chinese in the Twenty-First Century; Character list; Index

