China At A Threshold

Once the world’s most technologically advanced civilisation, China is poised to yet again take this mantle, having made incredible technological strides over recent decades; but what does this in fact mean? What will this mean for Chinese society, and what ramifications might it have for the future? This book offers an account of social change under the growing influence of communications technology in media-saturated urban China. The challenges presented by the rise of technology and its pervasive nature in the mediation of all facets of everyday life pose questions not just for Chinese society but for all contemporary media societies. Drawing on theories from the philosophy of technology and conceptual tools from political anthropology, this title moves beyond debates surrounding mediative technology as a liberating or malevolent force. China at a Threshold addresses academic concerns surrounding communications technology and state control, looking for an interpretative approach to understand the role media might play in social change so that we might ascertain its impact on social relations. Urging a reconsideration in our understanding of technology as neither liberative nor oppressive, the author advances a proposal that brings social forces into play in their own right. Taking inspiration from thinkers in philosophy and anthropology, this title investigates storytelling and liminal characters as real agents in social change so that we might identify alternative forces for change not reducible to technological impact or human proclivity.

This paper reviews China's experience with market-oriented reform since 1978, including domestic reforms, the opening of the economy to foreign trade and investment, and the decentralization of decision making. It identifies special conditions that may have affected China's capacity to implement reforms, assesses the impact of the reforms on the structure of the economy and on its integration into the world economy, examines the effect of the reforms on macroeconomic management and stability, and draws implications for the direction of China's future reform strategy.

China, Arms Control, and Non-Proliferation is an empirically and conceptually path-breaking book that documents China's participation in international arms control and non-proliferation regimes from 1985 to 2001. The book focuses on the distinction between US expectations of Chinese compliance, which China has not always met, and international standards, against which Chinese performance is acceptable. This will be the standard staple work dealing with China and international arms control and will be invaluable to those dealing with Chinese security studies, foreign policy, international relations and arms control and disarmament.

This book addresses the basic theory of criminal procedure in China, together with recent reforms. Balancing the powers of public security and judicial organs with the rights of individual citizens, it assesses the nature of Chinese criminal proceedings. In the basic theoretical research section, the author, drawing on the latest findings from the legal community, systematically and comprehensively presents the current trends, main research topics and the main problems that should be explored in future research into criminal procedure law in China; further, the author explains the basic thinking behind the revision of criminal procedure law, and the allocation of judicial resources in criminal procedure and criminal justice. The policy, basic theory and operation problems of judicial power, procuratorial power, police power, defense power and judicial reform are subsequently explained and evaluated. The general writing style used is intentionally straightforward, making the book easily accessible for the readers. Based on the author’s substantial working experience in the area of criminal law, it offers a highly intuitive reading experience.

Written by over 20 leading international economists, this book offers "win-win" scenarios to economic problems. As in the other volumes of this set of public policy handbooks, the Handbook of Global Economic Policy employs a unique organizational principle: from viewing economic problems from conservative and liberal perspectives, to developing pra

Bringing together a collection of interdisciplinary chapters on China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI, or also known as One Belt One Road), this book offers a comprehensive overview of the topic from a business and management perspective. With contributions from scholars based in Asia, Europe and North America, Volume I provides theoretical and empirical analysis of the opportunities and challenges facing businesses in relation to BRI. Key areas covered include economics and finance, history, trade, value chain and human resource and cross-cultural management, creating a useful tool for academics, as well as policy-makers and practitioners in China and other countries along the new Silk Road.

The Second Chinese Revolution explores some of the keys to understanding China, a country whose evolution already affects all of us. Beginning in 1978 - when China's GDP was only 6% of the USA's - the author takes us through the different aspects that have played a fundamental role in the country's change: China's eruption in world markets in the background of the West's economic crisis; its obsession with science and technology and its relentless march towards a 'knowledge society'; and a reassessment of the Tiananmen Square events of June 1989 and the ongoing debate on political reform. The book also includes a comparative analysis of the reforms in China and Russia in the last decades.

Asia is widely regarded as having benefited most from the dynamic growth effect of the recent wave of globalization. By examining mechanisms at work in the globalization–poverty nexus through specific case studies reflecting different settings, the book seeks to find ways to rediscover and resume a pattern of shared growth in Asia.