The United States and China are the two most important states in the international system and are crucial to the evolution of global order. Both recognize each other as vital players in a range of issues of global significance, including the use of force, macroeconomic policy, nonproliferation of nuclear weapons, climate change and financial regulation. In this book, Rosemary Foot and Andrew Walter, both experts in the fields of international relations and the East Asian region, explore the relationship of the two countries to these global order issues since 1945. They ask whether the behaviour of each country is consistent with global order norms, and which domestic and international factors shape this behaviour. They investigate how the bilateral relationship of the United States and China influences the stances that each country takes. This is a sophisticated analysis that adroitly engages the historical, theoretical and policy literature.
• Analyses the global implications of the relationship between China and the United States • A well written and sophisticated book by two experts in the field • Framed in the historical, economic and security contexts, the book will resonate with students in international relations, political economy and Chinese studies
Contents
1. Introduction: norms and global order; 2. Use of force; 3. Macroeconomic policy; 4. Non-proliferation of nuclear weapons; 5. Climate change; 6. Financial regulation; 7. Conclusion: behavioral consistency and its implication for global order.
Reviews
'The overwhelming impression left at the end of Foot and Walter's excellent and very readable survey is of a United States which is still able to dominate many key areas of international norm-giving and rule-making, and a China gradually coming to terms with its new strength and responsibility, but still placing narrow national self-interest at the heart of how it behaves.' Kerry Brown, International Affairs
'… there is little doubt that this is a superb book that makes an important contribution to its field.' Shogo Suzuki, International Relations of the Asia-Pacific
'[Foot and Walter] tackle the general question of Sino-American interactions with global rules and norms in a rigorous and informative manner, discussing issues as diverse as nonproliferation and financial regulation with a degree of empirical sophistication that borders on the astonishing. [They] have produced a must-read for anyone interested in the future of global governance.' Daniel W. Drezner, Foreign Policy
'Rosemary Foot and Andrew Walter's remarkable China, the United States, and Global Order comprehensively elucidates the main dynamics within contemporary Chinese (and American) foreign policy, and does so in a manner that is both conceptually sophisticated and empirically rich … Foot and Walter's work should become required reading for anyone interested in China's current 'rise' as it tells a convincing story about this development (while concurrently shedding light on America's own role on the world stage). Moreover, it is among the first sustained academic treatments of how Sino-U.S. relations, and international order more broadly, have been impacted by the economic turmoil of the last several years. In light of these strengths the book is certain to be of interest to both specialists and general readers as well.' Allen Carlson, Political Science Quarterly
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