The Invisible Visage of Hegemonic Politics

Abstract

Rising China and Asian Democratization, by Daniel Lynch, begins with an old debate. Should the United States engage China or contain it? Today, however, it has been generally accepted, by both Democrats and Republicans in the United States, that containing a rising China is no longer a viable policy option. For Lynch, then, the central question of the book is not how to contain China, but how to change it—via democratization. Of course, this question is not new either. What is new is the fact that Lynch expands our perspective on the means through which democracy in China might be promoted. Previously, the democratization of China was to be achieved either directly, through such means as political pressure, or indirectly, through such means as trade. Lynch, however, suggests that it can be done through a more subtle process of socializing China into what he calls the global “liberal-rational democratic culture.” This aspect of Rising China reflects Lynch the policy advocate. Indeed, the book ends with what amounts to a political manifesto: “For the liberal-rational global culture to prevail … concerned agents must act” (p. 215).