Charm Offensive: How China's Soft Power Is Transforming the World (A New Republic Book) (Paperback)

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Key Phrases: charm offensive, peaceful rise, soft power, United States, Southeast Asia, Latin America (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"'This book is about two things: the rise in China's utilization of its growing soft power, but also a vacuum of soft power and influence an emasculated United States is leaving. While many authors would gravitate toward only one of these two aspects, Kurlantzick is able to weave both together, and we are the better because of his ability to do so.' Benjamin A. Shobert, Asia Times 'Kurlantzick's book will jolt you awake.' Martha Bayles, Wall Street Journal 'China is winning friends and influencing people around the world almost as fast as the United States is doing the opposite. This is a significant change, and Kurlantzick may be the first journalist to draw proper attention to it... Charm Offensive is intelligent, important, and more than a little disquieting... Kurlantzick has picked up on something crucial about China today, and it's time the rest of us took notice.' T. A. Frank, Washington Monthly"

Review

"Charm Offensive addresses a very critical subject and one largely unnoticed-the way China is quietly and methodically extending its international reach and influence. This is an important and timely book."-Derek Mitchell, Senior Fellow for Asia, International Security Program, Center for Strategic and International Studies, and former Senior Director for China, U.S. Department of Defense, 2000-1 (Derek Mitchell )

"Joshua Kurlantzick has written an eye-opening book about an important aspect of China''s global rise. Although often eclipsed by its growing economic clout, China''s recent ''charm offensive'' in quest of closer relations and more natural resources has begun to transform the world balance of power in a way that makes it essential for Americans to recalibrate their presumption of US pre-eminence."-Orville Schell, author of Virtual Tibet and coeditor of The China Reader (Orville Schell )

"In this critically important book, Joshua Kurlantzick describes the incredible gains that China has made over the past decade in winning over the hearts and minds of populations and governments around the world through its strategic outreach campaign. Kurlantzick''s excellent work reminds us that America neglects our public diplomacy at our own peril, and that reinvigorating American prestige around the world will require far healthier doses of U.S. leadership for the greater good."-Jamie F. Metzl, Executive Vice President, The Asia Society (Jamie F. Metzl )

"At a time when polls show American soft power declining, China''s is rising. Based on first hand experience in Asia, Africa, and Latin America, Kurlantzick''s fascinating book traces how China is building its global soft power. It is a must-read for anyone interested in the future of American foreign policy."-Joseph S. Nye, Jr., University Distinguished Service Professor at Harvard, author of Soft Power: The Means to Success in World Politics (Joseph S. Nye, Jr. )

"This book is about two things: the rise in China''s utilization of its growing soft power, but also a vacuum of soft power and influence an emasculated United States is leaving. While many authors would gravitate toward only one of these two aspects, Kurlantzick is able to weave both together, and we are the better because of his ability to do so."-Benjamin A. Shobert, Asia Times (Benjamin A. Shobert Asia Times )

"An intellectually honest book. . . . The book''s greatest contribution is its systematic portrayal of China''s growing global influence, and the ways in which that influence is hurting not only Washington but also international development institutions."-Dan Blumenthal, The Weekly Standard (Dan Blumenthal The Weekly Standard )

"Kurlantzick''s book will jolt you awake."-Martha Bayles, Wall Street Journal (Martha Bayles Wall Street Journal ) --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Yale University Press (May 27, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0300136285
• ISBN-13: 978-0300136289
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #102,227 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars China's Effective Soft Power, May 24, 2007

By	Norman Goldman "Editor of Bookpleasures.com" (Montreal) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Charm Offensive: How China's Soft Power Is Transforming the World (A New Republic Book) (Hardcover)

If you are wondering how China has been able to effectively exert their soft power around the world, Joshua Kurlantzick's Charm Offensive: How China's Soft Power Is Transforming the World is a good place to start.

Kurlantzick is a Visiting Scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Special Correspondent at the New Republic, and Senior Correspondent at the American Prospect. Many of his articles on Asia and U.S. foreign policy have appeared in Foreign Affairs, The New York Times Magazine, The Washington Post, Harper's, The Atlantic Monthly and other well-known publications. Much of the observations he writes about are the result of many years of on-the-ground experience while living and traveling in various countries and tracking down China's policies in Southeast Asia, Latin America, and Africa.

As mentioned in the Preface, Kurlantzick states that the book represents an attempt to close the knowledge gap about China's soft power and its increasingly sophisticated diplomacy, which has and will transform international relations. He was quite taken aback when a few years ago he started to ask Washington's policy makers about China's new global influence- its soft power. The reaction was one of blank stares and even some of these individuals had asked him to brief them about the topic. In other words, while the Americans were asleep at the switch, China was spreading the word around that it was no longer to be perceived as unsophisticated in matters of diplomacy. It was now willing to become involved in aid programs and other ventures where in the past it was the Americans who dominated this terrain.

Using his personal experiences and knowledge, Kurlantzick offers readers an excellent synthesis as to how China began to court the world with its soft power- a term that was invented more than a decade ago by Prof. Nye of Harvard. Quoting from Nye, Kurlantzick describes soft power as resting on the ability "to shape the preferences of others...It is leading by example and attracting others to do what you want. If I can get you to do what I want, then I do not have to use carrots or sticks to make you do it."

The way in which it can conveyed is through a variety of means such as a country's popular and elite culture, its public diplomacy such as government funded programs with the intention of influencing public opinion abroad, its businesses' actions abroad, international perceptions of its government policies and the gravitational pull of a nation's economic strength. However, as Kurlaznick points out, soft power as it is applicable to China is more than the original concept advanced by Nye, as now it is broader in its scope. China perceives soft power as anything that is outside of the military and security realm and this includes not only popular culture and public diplomacy but also coercive economic and diplomatic levers such as aid and investment as well as participation in multilateral organizations-something that China shied away from in the past.

The book is divided into eleven well-written chapters that illustrate how China has built its global soft power and how it has drastically made over its image in many parts of the world from dangerous to benevolent. Moreover, readers will learn how China uses that power and how nations are responding particularly those whose relations with the United States have been faltering such as Venezuela and others whose leaders display autocratic traits.

It should be mentioned that in the main, Kurlantzick focuses on China's pursuit of developing nations in Southeast Asia, Africa, Latin America, and Central Asia-areas of the globe that have been alienated in one way or another by the USA. It is here where China succeeds in promoting itself as having an effective model for social and economic success and where it turns a blind eye to the dictatorial shenanigans, even atrocities that are common in these parts of the world.

In his concluding chapter, Kurlantzick makes various suggestions as to how the USA can respond and as he states, it still enjoys crucial advantages over China, particularly with its military power that if used correctly, can compliment soft power. Case in point is its deployment for humanitarian missions such as the tsunami response that demonstrated that only the USA had sophisticated military to move aid overnight.

Kurlantzick should be applauded for this timely book particularly when American foreign policy has suffered several set-backs over the past few years. Although, for some more knowledgeable about the subject matter, the book is hardly terra incognita, however, for the vast majority it very enlightening and certainly an eye-opener.

Norm Goldman, Editor & Publisher Bookpleasures

16 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A political discourse of Chinese Soft Power, July 21, 2007

By	Li Hak Yin "gindeini" (Hong Kong) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Charm Offensive: How China's Soft Power Is Transforming the World (A New Republic Book) (Hardcover)

In the academic field, many scholars of Chinese studies and international relations are studying the various impacts of the rise of China. Will China upset the existing international norms and world order? Will the boom of Chinese economy threaten the economic growth and environmental condition of other countries? Will China challenge the American hegemony?

Indeed, Joshua Kurlantzick attempts to answer the above questions in his latest work - Charm Offensive: How China's Soft Power is Transforming the World.

At the very beginning of his book, Kurlantzick defines soft power from the Chinese perspective as "soft power means anything outside of the military and security realm, including not only popular culture and public diplomacy but also more coercive economic and diplomatic levers like aid and investment and participation in multilateral organizations", which is different from Joseph Nye's values, ideals and norms.

Chinese government has paid more attention in building up its soft power, mainly because of the theory of "China Threat", the concerns of economic and technological interdependencies between China and other countries, and the Chinese regional hegemonic interests. According to Kurlantzick, China would like to use "peaceful development" in order to replace or fade out the "China threat"; China would like to check the unilateral American moves by using its soft power rather than hard power (direct political and military confrontation) since China treasures its economic and technological interdependencies with the United States, Europe and Japan; China would also like to establish its influence in Southeast Asia through soft power, which can minimize the suspicions among Southeast Asian countries.

Kurlantzick carried out interviews and case studies about the rising Chinese influence in various developing countries. China sets up Confucians institutes from Kenya, South Korea, Uzbekistan to Australia; promotes Chinese language in Southeast Asian countries by offering wide range of scholarships and academic exchanges, provides diplomatic professional training to officials in many developing countries, builds up close relations with Chinese diaspora; gives economic aid and loans to poor countries for building economic infrastructures and social facilities; last but not least, encourages Chinese investment in developing countries for boosting their local economic development.

However, not all the Chinese influences can be regarded as good to others. Kurlantzick points out that China also exports labour, environmental and governance problems to others. Chinese firms often neglect the safety of workers and pay little salary to the local workers. In order to avoid labour strike, Chinese firms sometimes employ Chinese to replace the local workers. Besides, some Chinese firms launch illegal logging in Burma and Indonesia. Chinese government built dams on the upper course of Mekong River which have threatened the Cambodian fish stocks and fertilize arable lands in the lower course of the river. In addition, China tolerates authoritarian rule in Cambodia, Laos and Angola for its unconditional aids and loans while the World Bank and International Monetary Fund always demand the recipient countries to comply good governance. China is also criticized for its non-intervention policy in Darfur which finally caused humanitarian disaster.

Kurlantzick's efforts should be given credit in figuring out the latest pattern and development of Chinese foreign policy. The qualitative works such as case studies and interviews with diplomats, business people and Chinese diaspora are also valuable to the study of Chinese foreign policy. However, as a student of international relations, I would expect a finer definition of the Chinese soft power rather than putting the Chinese political influence and economic capability under the category of soft power. Besides, since China has engaged with many regional institutions by advocating multilateralism, the power and influence of China can be explained in terms of structural realism or institutionalism, but not necessarily soft power. Moreover, Kurlantzick concludes that there are mutual interests between China and the United States, thus he holds an optimistic view that "if America seems popular and strong, allowing China to assume more responsibility for the globe will become easier for America to accept". It seems that the conclusion simplifies the interactions and mechanisms between China and the United States in shaping the world order. The political significances and implications of the Chinese charm offensive towards the existing international norms and values as well as world order should be further examined. What is the role of Chinese norm of non-intervention and multilateralism in upsetting the status-quo or making the new world order? Does the Chinese soft power cause any political cost to the United States?

Nevertheless, Kurlantzick points out the determining pivot between the Chinese and American soft power, "More important, the United States still offers a political and social model, a set of values, which can appeal to average people around the world. China's values - noninterference, respect for other nations' internal affairs, economic gradualism directed by the state - can enjoy appeal. But China's values appeal only to specific groups: elites in authoritarian nations..." Since the Deng's era, the Chinese foreign policies are regarded as pragmatic in the quest of national interests, may be it is the time for the Chinese government to review its previous diplomacy by concerning more about international public interests.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Refreshingly comprehensive but still anchored by old biases, June 3, 2009

By	George Koo - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is the first book that has dared to suggest that China understands and has been effectively exercising soft power around the world. If this is a notion novel to you, then you will want to read this book. The author has performed a service by carefully and comprehensively documenting where and how China has been operating in the 3rd world. It should be a real eye opener to most readers who have not been following China.

While the author was indefatigable in chasing down every Chinese acitivity in remote areas of the world and describing them with careful fidelity, he was less successful in remaining objective as he drew his conclusions. The tone frequently hint at something negative on the underside of the Chinese even if not verified by his data. He seemed unable to give China full credit for whatever they are doing right. The book seemed full of tentative "yes, but" conclusions that I found frustrating. If there was a dark side to China's international relations, I wish the author would simply say so and back it up with his otherwise careful research.

On the other hand when he attempted to contrast what China was doing right with what the Bush Administration had been doing wrong, he was surprisingly mealy mouthed, never quite calling the neoconpoop unilateralism for the damage it did to American prestige and the respect the rest of the world once held for the U.S.

In sum, I recommend this book on a subject that has not been covered to this depth, a subject that will become increasingly important to foreign policy wonks, especially in Washington. I would simply discount some of his limp conclusions and pay attention to his field research.