Tangled Titans

Distinguished Sinologist Shambaugh (George Washington Univ.) edited this volume and provided an opening chapter on conceptualizing the US-China relationship. He posits that the relationship between the US and the People's Republic of China involves an uneasy and ever shifting blend of cooperation and competition, coining the term "coopetition." Therefore, policy makers in both countries face the daunting tasks of simultaneously managing competition and maximizing cooperation. Shambaugh has recruited 15 recognized international scholars to assess the dynamics of these US and Chinese interactions. In an effective format, these scholars address the manifold aspects of the relationship: the theoretical, the domestic, the bilateral, the regional, and the global contexts. On the basis of these analyses, a distinguished Chinese academic and then a distinguished American scholar evaluate "Visions of the Future" in the relationship between these "tangled titans." A valuable work that will be not outdated soon, it belongs in all serious academic libraries. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduate, graduate, and research collections.

Distinguished Sinologist Shambaugh (George Washington Univ.) edited this volume and provided an opening chapter on conceptualizing the US-China relationship. He posits that the relationship between the US and the People's Republic of China involves an uneasy and ever shifting blend of cooperation and competition, coining the term "coopetition." Therefore, policy makers in both countries face the daunting tasks of simultaneously managing competition and maximizing cooperation. Shambaugh has recruited 15 recognized international scholars to assess the dynamics of these US and Chinese interactions. In an effective format, these scholars address the manifold aspects of the relationship: the theoretical, the domestic, the bilateral, the regional, and the global contexts. On the basis of these analyses, a distinguished Chinese academic and then a distinguished American scholar evaluate "Visions of the Future" in the relationship between these "tangled titans." A valuable work that will be not outdated soon, it belongs in all serious academic libraries. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduate, graduate, and research collections.

A volume of essays that offers an up-to-date assessment of U.S.–China relations, examining the past, present and future of the relationship from regional, bilateral, global, domestic and historical contexts, and includes essays on Chinese and American visions of their future relationship.

Its detailed studies of specific aspects of the China-US relationship are excellent and provide the reader with much new food for thought. The chapters on broader strategic developments are also great…. [T]he contributions of the sixteen authors are insightful and well-written – especially the more empirical chapters. Furthermore, all chapters come with extensive references making the book a good point of departure for future studies of the US-China relationship.

Tangled Titans is the best book on U.S.-China relations to appear in many years—offering a comprehensive account of the world's most important relationship. A must read for all who need to know where Sino-American relations are headed.

David Shambaugh, long known for his contributions to China studies in the United States, has collected a wide-ranging set of essays analyzing all aspects of the U.S.-China relationship. Specialists and general readers alike will find much to consider in this important volume.

A compelling collection of diverse experts that provides the context for and covers the entire range of issues in the U.S.-China relationship.

David Shambaugh is professor of political science and international affairs and director of the China Policy Program at The George Washington University. He is also nonresident senior fellow in the Foreign Policy Studies Program at The Brookings Institution.