Ahsan I. Butt. 2017. Secession and Security: Explaining State Strategy Against Insurgents
| Published date | 01 April 2020 |
| DOI | 10.1177/2347797020911773 |
| Date | 01 April 2020 |
| Subject Matter | Book Reviews |
126 Book Reviews 7(1)
Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, its unilateral declaration of Air Defense
Identification Zone in the East China Sea, the variations in its bilateral relations
with other regional powers such as the USA, Japan, India and Russia, and China’s
increased involvement in UN peacekeeping missions. In all of these cases it is
demonstrated how China has been concerned with regaining its lost honour and
status as a great power, thereby bolstering the internal/domestic legitimacy of the
CCP and the external/international legitimacy of China’s international position.
For a scholar of international relations and China studies, this book provides a
coherent and comprehensive understanding of China’s grand strategy as well as
foreign policy directions. The central conjecture of the book, in terms of the core
arguments to deal with variegated economic systems (capitalism) and international
scenarios, has been cogently dealt with by the author. Danner deserves a huge
appreciation for his unreserved efforts to examine the behaviour of the Chinese
State, operationalising various variables like anti-hegemonism, national power,
defence of territorial integrity, increase or decrease of international reputation,
avoidance of threat perception based on the notion of ‘China threat’, undertakings
to international responsibility (responsible power) and the maintenance of
favourable economic ties with diverse countries. Whilst these have been issues
dealt with by other scholars before, Danner engages with this topic in a much
more comprehensive, equitable and consciously culturally neutral stance than
most. Thus, China’s Grand Strategy is a reliable source for scholars and possibly
laymen to understand the foreign policy decisions and future directions of China.
ORCID iD
Ramnath Reghunadhan https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4036-3351
Ramnath Reghunadhan
Research Scholar
Department of Humanities and Social Sciences
Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT M)
Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
E-mail: vrramnath@gmail.com
Ahsan I. Butt. 2017. Secession and Security: Explaining State Strategy
Against Insurgents. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press. 293 pp.
ISBN: 978-1-501-71396-5.
DOI: 10.1177/2347797020911773
The Treaty of Westphalia is commonly attributed as establishing the principles of
sovereign autonomy and territorial integrity as the two core pillars of the
contemporary international system. These two principles remain the foundation
of the modern nation state, ensuring that each one remains hypervigilant against
both internal and external threats to their sovereignty. The post-WW II world
To continue reading
Request your trial