China as Number One?

“China’s rise requires greater understanding, not only of its leaders, but of the values of the Chinese people. Here top scholars provide a comprehensive overview of Chinese attitudes toward politics, society, and morals, and they do so in the global comparative context provided by the World Values Survey. The variety and depth of the data and analyses preclude glib stereotypes, and they yield a nuanced and complex social portrait.”

“This is a very timely study of changing political values in China based on the most recent wave of the World Values Survey in 2018. With Ronald F. Inglehart’s recent passing, it is a fitting tribute to him.”

“China as Number One? is firmly set in a prominent and influential theoretical frame of modernization theory, or evolutionary modernization theory, and makes important theoretical contributions to the ongoing debate on the relationship among economic development, cultural change, and democratization. The volume provides very rich contextual information and in-depth discussions about Chinese culture, politics, and society, which are not easily available in other works on China.”

“This book examines the changes and continuities in mass political and cultural values in a rising/modernizing China using various waves of the World Value Surveys, and in the process addresses the important question of whether China can become the world’s leading nation from the perspective of soft power. The book will be of great interest to scholars of Chinese politics, political culture, and public opinion, as well as journalists and the general public.”

"Citing numerous ways that China has made enormous strides, such as its meteoric economic rise and its impressive results in high-tech fields such as artificial intelligence, solar energy, 5G, biotechnology, and quantum computing, the authors conclude that what it still lacks is an appealing alternative set of values and culture with the strength to challenge the dominant soft power of the U.S. Rated: Recommended."

* Choi