Book Review: Asia and the Pacific: Chaos, Violence, Dynasty: Politics and Islam in Central Asia
| DOI | 10.1111/1478-9302.12016_123 |
| Published date | 01 May 2013 |
| Date | 01 May 2013 |
| Subject Matter | Book Review |
Asia and the Pacific
International Conflict in the Asia-Pacific: Pat-
terns, Consequences and Management by Jacob
Berkovitch and Mikio Oishi. Abingdon: Routledge,
2010. 220pp., £24.95, ISBN 978 0 415 58004 5
With the Asia-Pacific emerging as the focus of strategic
attention from the United States and China, a serious
study of conflict management in the region is invalu-
able. Jacob Berkovitch and Mikio Oishi offer an over-
view of the region’s most contentious conflicts: the
perennial Korean Peninsula problem; the issue of inde-
pendence for Taiwan; tension between India and Paki-
stan; and the ambiguous status of the Spratly Islands.
Although pessimistic about eliminating conflict, the
authors provide several examples of effective conflict
management in the region.
The introductory chapter takes a broad view of
trends in global conflict. Quantitative measures provide
a sobering view of conflict in the twentieth century by
charting the staggering number of fatalities suffered in
the Asia-Pacific.The data presented here should give
pause to those who think violent conflict is becoming
obsolete. It is a shame, however, that the rest of the
chapters are not as captivating as the book slips into the
trend of being heavily descriptive.
Each case study follows the same pattern: a general
history of the conflict is given from the post-war period
until the present, followed by an outline of the specific
attempts made to manage the conflict such as deter-
rence, external intervention or mutual self-restraint.
Commendably,the authors recognise the diverse causes
of conflict: terr itory, ideology, security, independence,
resources and ethnicity,and record how each conflict has
transformed over time. Nevertheless, the book fails to
advance any theoretical framework or introduce new
concepts to the literature on conflict management.
While the authors offer some brief lessons or glimpses of
the future for each case, the lack of a central argument
makes the book more like a general guide to conflict in
the Asia-Pacific rather than offering a new wayto think
about resolving conflict in the area.
The book also represents a missed opportunity to con-
sider how the shifting balance of powerin the region will
affect the outcomes of these conflicts in the future – will
an increasingly powerful China take a more aggressive
stance towardsTaiwan or the Spratly Islands,for instance?
Furthermore, the concluding chapter simply recaps each
case, only dedicating three pages to extrapolating general
trends about conflict in the Asia-Pacific.
The book’s clarity of prose and structure makes it
easy to recommend to those looking for a general
introduction to conflict in the Asia-Pacific. For scholars
seeking a novel theoretical argument, however, there
may be disappointment.
James Whibley
(Victoria University of Wellington)
Chaos, Violence, Dynasty: Politics and Islam in
Central Asia by Eric McGlinchey. Pittsburgh PA:
University of Pittsburgh Press, 2011. 216pp., £24.50,
ISBN 9780822961680
The post-Soviet trajectories of Central Asian states have
perplexed a number of observers. There are many
reasons for confusion. First, with few exceptions these
countries continue to be ruled by individuals who
were part of the former Soviet elite. Second, the
so-called transition of the Central Asian countries has
defied any of the frameworks dominating the literature.
At the same time, political,social and economic life in
the region has been pervaded by resilient informal
patronage networks. These are some of the dynamics
that provide the point of departure for Eric
McGlinchey’s book. In this respect,his analysis provides
a rare and discerning account of the forms of authori-
tarian governance that have come to dominate the
region. Looking at the experience of Kazakhstan, Kyr-
gyzstan and Uzbekistan, McGlinchey draws a vivid
picture of the interaction between patronage networks
and the emergence of authoritarian regimes in the
region.
A key aspect of McGlinchey’s argument is the
acknowledgement not only that the post-Soviet tran-
sition of Central Asian states cannot be called democ-
ratisation, but also that democracy is a prospect that
external observers and commentators should not be
expecting any time soon. Perhaps unsurprisingly, stating
the obvious has liberated McGlinchey’s investigation
from the need to ponder what Western international
organisations and actors should do in order to increase
the likelihood of Central Asian democratisation.
Instead, the book directly delves into the reasons that
can provide an explanation for the variations in the
models of patronage practised in the region. For
BOOK REVIEWS 303
© 2013 TheAuthors. Political Studies Review © 2013 Political Studies Association
Political Studies Review: 2013, 11(2)
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