Book Review: Asia-Pacific
| DOI | 10.1111/j.1478-9299.2006.00037_5.x |
| Published date | 01 January 2006 |
| Date | 01 January 2006 |
| Published By | Sage Publications, Inc. |
BOOK REVIEWS91
© 2006 The Authors
Journal compilation © 2006 Political Studies Association
Wessels);the area of freedom, security and justice
(Lavenex);and immigration, asylum and security
(Guild). Part III deals with institutional change:
the composition of the Commission, qualified
majority voting and the re-weighting of votes in
the Council, examining the Amsterdam and Nice
Treaties (Laursen and Maurer) and the European
Convention (in an admirably clear chapter by
Crum).
The book aims to remedy the supposed acad-
emic ‘lacuna’(p. 5) of eastern enlargement,and
indeed provides a finely detailed discussion of the
topic. However,other relevant publications do
exist, and they cover crucial aspects of the subject
which are neglected in this volume – above all
the issue of identity and the implications of
enlargement for the theories of European inte-
gration. If read in conjunction with these other
works,the present book will provide a significant
contribution to our understanding of the multi-
faceted question of EU enlargement.
Alberto Nones
(University of Trento,Italy)
Asia-Pacific
Leadership in a Changing China by Weixing
Chen and Yang Zhong.Basingstoke: Palgrave
Macmillan, 2005.210pp.,£35.00, ISBN 1 4039
6734 2
This collection of essays stands out in at least two
ways. It is a study of the current or fourth gen-
eration of China’s leadership but it reaches
beyond the changes of membership of the Politi-
cal Bureau to basic level governance and grass-
roots politics in the countryside where 70 percent
of the population resides. Second,the authors are
a new generation of Chinese political scientists
based in the US, mainland China and Singapore
and who are at home with the latest methodol-
ogy trends.The first set of essays examines the
impact of leadership on policy changes and con-
tinuities and on institution-building while the
second set is concerned with regional and global
challenges.There are, of course,overlaps. Xinning
Song, for example,discusses the influence of
domestic factors, particularly the Communist
Party, on the exercise of foreign policy. Under-
pinning both sets of essays are beliefs in the
need for further institutionalisation, the need for
democratic forms and practices and that China
must play a responsible role internationally.
This collection differs from those studies that
identify power in China primarily with a leader
or with the Communist Party.Without denying
their importance, the authors have a better grasp
on the complexity and thereby the realities of
leadership.This is suggested by the editors devot-
ing 2 of the 10 chapters to the rural grass-roots
reforms.Although much has been written about
village governance,Youxing Liang demonstrates
how officials in the Ministry of Civil Affairs with
the backing of some national leaders and aided
by peasants’ expectations were able to establish
nationwide village elections and self-government.
Yang Zhong,however,argues that state policy-
implementation capacity has not improved.
He calls for a re-assessment of strategies and the
democratisation of political structures at the
higher levels of the state.
Robert Benewick
(University of Sussex)
We w elcome short reviews of books in all
areas of politics and international relations.
For guidelines on submitting reviews,and
to see an up-to-date listing of books avail-
able for review, please visit http://www.
politicalstudies.org/review/booksforreview/.
Other Areas
Learning Democracy: Citizen Engagement
and Electoral Choice in Nicaragua,
1990–2001 by Leslie E.Anderson and
Lawrence C.Dodd. Chicago IL: University of
Chicago Press, 2005.336pp., $24.00,ISBN 0 226
01972 1
This work by Leslie Anderson and Lawrence
Dodd is a rare blend of two usually separate
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