Book Review: China Fragile Superpower
Author: Susan L. Shirk
By: David Hart
Introduction/Contribution to Knowledge
Susan L. Shirk’s book China Fragile Superpower provides fascinating insights into the political and economic workings of this vast country. Shirk has the credentials to write such a book, as she has observed and studied China for over four decades. In addition, her position as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State in the Clinton administration gives her added insights into the political relations of the United States and China.
Shirk’s book is both thought-provoking and insightful. Intended for an educated audience, Shirk does an effective job of helping the reader understand the facts related to certain topics. Her analysis and description of important historical events and topics contain in-depth information from an insider’s perspective. She writes to help readers realize the importance of Americans understanding China. She makes it clear that Americans must deal with China and its problems properly. She notes that we must “control how we ourselves think about and behave toward China, which is all the more important because we can’t count on China always to act responsibly or in its own best interest” (p. 261).
The paradoxical title of “fragile superpower” effectively provides an overview of what this book is about. Many Americans may look at China from the outside as being a rising superpower, while the Chinese point of view may be the opposite. This book attempts to take an objective and academic look as to why the author believes the Chinese government’s internal politics could negatively affect their peaceful rise to superpower status (pp. 5-8). This review will discuss the book’s strengths, weaknesses, and my overall impressions of the book.
Strengths
This book was well-written. The author effectively discusses the topics that engage her audience. Her writing style, though not exciting, is matter-of-fact. The reader can tell that she is well versed in the topics and has a great desire to help people to better understand China. Overall, some of the main strengths of the book include its layout, the author’s experiences and the practical advice given.
Layout
One of the books main strengths is the way it is organized. Shirk does a great job of using headings and subheadings to make clear which topics are discussed. This is particularly helpful in this type of book that deals with a number of different topics. Without this type of layout, many readers would drown in the sea of information. However, she makes the reading a little easier to digest by using a number of subheadings. Many readers may find it helpful to look over the subheadings of a chapter before reading it to have an overview of which topics will be discussed.
Also, throughout the book there are a few pictures and diagrams. With the reading being a little more in-depth, this helps give the reader a visual image of some of the topics being discussed. An example of a helpful diagram can be found in Figure 3.1. This diagram helps the readers visualize the layout of the Chinese government and the communist party (p. 41). The author effectively used these types of graphs and pictures throughout the text.
In addition, the layout of the book is well organized. The first chapter does a great job of summarizing some of her main ideas. The chapter grabs the reader’s interest by opening about the possibility of war. She then goes on to give an overview of the rise of China and its leadership. She introduces the theme of insecurity, which is one of her main points throughout the book. She notes, “China is stronger economically and more secure internationally than it has been since the nineteenth century, but paradoxically, its communist leaders have a deep sense of domestic insecurity” (p. 6).
Shirk covers a variety of political, economic, and other topics throughout the book that help the reader better understand why China is the way it is today. China is a complex country, and challenging to understand. She discusses many of the important historical events that have shaped China. She particularly focuses on events or issues within the past few decades. She effectively discusses the historical and political implications. The book seems to flow well from topic to topic and chapter to chapter. The organization helps make the topics easy to follow from the reader’s standpoint.
Experiences
The author gives the reader the feeling that she knows what she is talking about. With her extensive experience as a scholar in China as well as being the deputy assistant secretary of state for American relations with China in the Clinton administration, she has the credentials to back up her claims.
Although Shirk mostly writes about the issues from a third-person point of view, she also effectively sprinkles some of her own experiences throughout the book. This gives the book a sense of character. The reader gets an idea of where the author is coming from. For example, she sometimes quotes from personal conversations she had with officials (ie. p. 98). Another example occurs when she notes her own personal findings that show Chinese hostility toward the Japanese (p. 152).
Her experiences as an insider were intriguing to read. For example, during her time as deputy assistant secretary of state, she was involved in negotiations with Chinese government officials. She noted that “the public rhetoric toward the United States and the official interactions with the United States that were hidden from public view were completely at odds” (p. 222). She then notes that the state-run media often criticizes the United States to arouse popular support for the Party while at the same time “Chinese diplomats were making compromises with the U.S. government.” Insights like this reinforce some of the main points that she makes throughout the book.
Practical Advice
One of the strengths of the book is that the author answers the question “now what?” Rather than allowing her readers to come up with their own solutions, she gives advice based on her experience and expertise. This provides a strong ending that allows the reader to go away with some practical advice on the relationship between the United States and China.
In the chapter, she begins by giving advice to the Chinese government. While the solutions she offers seem simple, the reality that they can occur is complicated. She then offers advice to Americans. By offering take home messages, the author helps the reader to generate ideas that the United States should consider. Facts and theories are interesting, but it is the implementation and application of ideas that make a difference in the world.
Weaknesses
Some readers of this book may feel that the author is too opinionated. As is the case with any author, she has her biases and sees the issues through her own lenses. Many may feel that due to her direct experiences with the Chinese, that she is more credible. However, others may feel that because of this experience, she has certain biases.
The tone of the book is such that her opinions shine through. If people disagree with her, they may find the book to be too opinionated. For example, she notes that the best thing to happen to China’s relations was its joining of the World Trade Organization (p. 132). Some may have differing opinions of this issue. Also, some readers may think she is over worried about the dangers of war with the US or other countries. Perhaps some believe that she exaggerates the risk of war. They may feel she focuses too much on the negative aspects.
Summary/Interpretations
Overall, I found this book to provide key insights to the political atmosphere that surrounds China today. I would be curious to see if the author has any more recent writings to get her take on more current issues in China. Since she published the book, the global recession, the Olympics, and many other situations have had a great impact on China.
I enjoyed the book. While some may find it to be a little dry, I thought the author did an effective job of keeping the book organized in a way that kept my interest. In my opinion, the author talked about fascinating issues that show a unique perspective of Chinese leadership. This book helped me to better understand the political and social issues that affect China internally as well as its relationship with the United States and other countries. I would recommend this book to anyone looking to understand China, its regime, and its implications as it continues to develop into an even more “fragile superpower.”
