China and India

Jonathan Holslag offers a judicious and critical perspective on the prospects for 'Chindia'-the emergence of China and India as major trading states with shared threats to prosperity, and the view that this connection will foster long-term Sino-Indian security cooperation. Holslag's research and analysis shows that Chinese and Indian engagement in international commerce has contributed to competition, rather than cooperation, in neighboring regions, and that such engagement cannot ameliorate the strategic sources of their enduring conflict. A much-needed, balanced assessment of the prospects for Sino-Indian cooperation. -- Robert Ross, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, John F. Kennedy School of Government A comprehensive, strategic treatise, this book provides valuable insight into the dynamics of the increasingly competitive relationship between the world's two most populous countries. -- Brahma Chellaney, Center for Policy Research, New Delhi A deep and incisive study that sets a new standard for work in Sino-Indian relations. Jonathan Holslag looks at and analytically integrates these two dimensions impressively, stressing growing economic links yet concluding that an economic rivalry still exists and is likely to grow. Holslag's account is subtle and complex yet highly readable. It is an absolute necessity for anyone seeking to understand this complex and increasingly important relationship. -- John W. Garver, Sam Nunn School of International Affairs, Georgia Institute of Technology, and author of Protracted Contest: China-Indian Rivalry in the Twentieth Century

For all their spectacular growth, China and India must still lift a hundred million citizens out of poverty and create jobs for the numerous laborers. Both powers hope trade and investment will sustain national unity. For the first time, Jonathan Holslag identifies these objectives as new sources of rivalry and argues that China and India cannot grow without fierce contest. Though he recognizes that both countries wish to maintain stable relations, Holslag argues that success in implementing economic reform will give way to conflict. This rivalry is already tangible in Asia as a whole, where shifting patterns of economic influence have altered the balance of power and have led to shortsighted policies that undermine regional stability. Holslag also demonstrates that despite two decades of peace, mutual perceptions have become hostile, and a military game of tit-for-tat promises to diminish prospects for peace. Holslag therefore refutes the notion that development and interdependence lead to peace, and he does so by embedding rich empirical evidence within broader debates on international relations theory. His book is down-to-earth and realistic while also taking into account the complexities of internal policymaking. The result is a fascinating portrait of the complicated interaction among economic, political, military, and perceptional levels of diplomacy.