The Dragon's Hidden Wings: How China Rises with its Soft Power

by Sheng Ding

Overview

The Dragon's Hidden Wings is the first comprehensive study on China's own soft power and the soft power wielding in China's rising process. Sheng Ding provides the reader with a detailed empirical study that chronicles China's economic and political ascent on the global scene over the course of the past three decades. This book not only examines the connections between the ongoing rise of China and its "soft power," a term coined by Joseph Nye, but also delivers to readers a more complete understanding of China's state power and the process of modernization it has undergone in order to accomplish its national goals.

The main questions addressed are: What are the theoretical and empirical connections between the soft power concept and the rise of China? What are China's own soft power resources? How has Beijing used soft power to become a major player in the world? What opportunities and challenges does the use of soft power present to China? This study is essential reading for scholars of Chinese politics and foreign policy and for scholars of international relations interested in the concept and application of soft power.

About the Author:
Sheng Ding is assistant professor of political science at the Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780739129975
Publisher:	Lexington Books
Publication date:	01/01/1955
Series:	Challenges Facing Chinese Political Development
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	210
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

Sheng Ding is assistant professor of political science at the Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments     ix
Introduction     1
The Concept of Soft Power and the Rise of China     5
Rising Power, Soft Power, and the Rise of China: A Conceptual Framework     7
The Chinese Idea of Soft Power and China's Rising Strategy     23
Soft Power Reconsidered: Multidimensionality of Power Resources and Power Conversion Model     39
The Structure of China's Soft Power     57
The Middle Kingdom's Cultural Attractiveness: China's Reliable Soft Power Resource     59
The Chinese Communist Party's Governance Performance: China's Questionable Soft Power Resource     75
Beijing's Diplomatic Finesse and Weakness: China's Limited Soft Power Resources     93
The Dragon Spreading Its Hidden Wings: China's Soft Power Wielding     111
To Build a "Strong" Language: Opportunities and Challenges in Globalizing Mandarin Chinese     113
"Old Bottles, New Wine": Beijing's Soft Power Campaigns in the Global South     131
Soft-Looking Dragon at Work: China's National Image Building with Soft Power     149
Conclusion     167
Bibliography     173
Index     183
About the Author     199

Editorial Reviews

This book explores a very important topic in contemporary Chinese foreign policy and international strategy. It is a comprehensive study on the resources behind China's soft power, the practice of soft power-based foreign policy and the implications for China's rise and international politics for the coming decades....this book is commendable for its conscious attention to theoretical clarity, particularly given the fact that the term soft power has been used very loosely in many other writings....This book should be a useful read for people who are interested in Chinese foreign policy and China's rising strategy in international politics. It is successful in proposing a soft power perspective in watching and studying China's rise.
— June 2010, Li Mingjiang

Pacific Affairs

Sheng Ding's book could not be more timely and is wonderfully insightful. China is clearly on the rise in the global system, and he explains that this has as much or more to do with 'soft power,' including examples of it such as the attractiveness of its development model and skillful agenda-setting. Though to his credit, he also highlights potential threats to China's soft power.

Yale H. Ferguson

The book is clearly organized, with neatly packaged discussions. Students of Chinese foreign policy form the major audience for this study, in addition to international relations scholars curious about applying the idea of soft power beyond the USA.
— Richard Curt Kraus, University of Oregon

Journal of Chinese Political Science

The book is clearly organized, with neatly packaged discussions. Students of Chinese foreign policy form the major audience for this study, in addition to international relations scholars curious about applying the idea of soft power beyond the USA.

Journal of Chinese Political Science - Richard Curt Kraus

This book explores a very important topic in contemporary Chinese foreign policy and international strategy. It is a comprehensive study on the resources behind China's soft power, the practice of soft power-based foreign policy and the implications for China's rise and international politics for the coming decades....this book is commendable for its conscious attention to theoretical clarity, particularly given the fact that the term soft power has been used very loosely in many other writings....This book should be a useful read for people who are interested in Chinese foreign policy and China's rising strategy in international politics. It is successful in proposing a soft power perspective in watching and studying China's rise.

Pacific Affairs - June 2010

Sheng Ding's book could not be more timely and is wonderfully insightful. China is clearly on the rise in the global system, and he explains that this has as much or more to do with 'soft power,' including examples of it such as the attractiveness of its development model and skillful agenda-setting. Though to his credit, he also highlights potential threats to China's soft power.

Yale Ferguson