Rise of China and the Capitalist World Order

In the current era of world history China's rise has become the focus of global attention. Forgotten is the thesis of the 'End of History', as the evolution of Chinese society and its external roles are opening a new phase of relations on the world scale. For social scientists, the long and dramatic transformations that have taken place in China in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries make it an ideal 'case study' for research on political and economic development and social changes. With regard to international relations, China's size and integration with the world economy are seen as contributing to substantial uncertainties concerning the future of the hierarchical order of the capitalist world system. China's dynamism has unleashed intended and unintended consequences on the functioning of the capitalist world system. Readers of this book are offered a non-conventional analysis of the possible outcomes brought about by the transformation of China into a mover and shaper in the contemporary international system. The book's message and conclusions are open-ended and provide a dialectical understanding of the complexities and the underlying dynamics brought about by the rise of modern-day China in the existing world order. Students and researchers of development studies and international relations will find the theoretical and methodological approaches used in the various chapters a useful tool for comprehending one of the most burning questions of our time.