Kishore Mahbubani has published his latest book, “Has China Won? The Chinese Challenge to American Primacy”, on published in 31, March 2020. In this book he has artistically explained the modern U.S.-China geopolitical contest. It has 9 chapters and 320 pages.
US needs for National reassessment
Mr. Kishore recognized that America has best education system in the world; it has the capability to regain, nurture and retain talented people. He also reveals in his book that “if America is like human being then it would be the arrogant, autocratic and short sighted person on earth, which is driven by heavy-industrial mechanical complex. Since from its foundation, the US has never experienced second rank play in world stages.
In past time, American voting system is considered as an ideal symbol of democratic activity. In contemporary politics, it has no longer existed as powerful and moneyed American elite control the law of land while public voting is nothing more than a show.
In current geostrategic crisis of US, the US doesn’t have any true intellectual practitioners of realpolitik who have sound knowledge about china.
From the prevailing scenario, US have to consider and play world second rank power in the upcoming power politics. If US want to continue to lead the world then it will need to confront in a dispassionate ways.
By demonstrating all this, Mr. Kishore has done an excellent service lime-lighting issues and pushing Washington for national reassessment.
The responsibility of power:
Mr. Kishore also acknowledges the fact that there is a need for west to understand china and simultaneously china to act in sincere way. He stated that Chinese communist party is most successfully ruling china than any other previous dynasties. Because of aforementioned political environment, any political support of china is a political suicide. He claimed that Chinese have high level of satisfaction from CCP. This portrayed from the fact that according to the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, “Chinese rate CCP as most effective and functional government ever before”.
When Washington ignore 1.4 billion Chinese; US crafted terrible law and implied, this will definitely disturb the relationship between Washington and Beijing. The writer claims that US are unable to face the reality of lobbies of US powerful elite politicians and to excessive western moralization. This claims proved from the fact that there is an excessive usage of “yellow perils” which means that emergence of East Asia is an existential threat to the US.
He also claims that liberal democracy is not a “one size fit for all” approach and not good for global governance. It reveal from the fact that liberal democracy spread in west but there is a wider rejection from many societies in Asia. He more claims that so-called US Exceptionalism is a major hindrance in US cooperation with china.
In this book he also mentioned that, US are labeling China as existential threat through attractive media for profit and business sake. He also claims that china is not an expansionist power like Soviet Union. US need to put forth much focus on human security regardless of state security. If US continue to support for military procurement while labeling china as major threat then there is a possibility that US would be like Soviet Union in cold war era.
Moreover Mr. Kishore has also offered practical suggestion to china. He cautioned china for short sighted gain like forcing neighboring states through wolf warrior diplomacy to do things that favor china. In china they are considered as symbol of defender of china’s border and china’s raising international status; however they are heavily criticized by foreign states. The Wolf warrior diplomacy of Beijing results in the unifications of enemies and alienation of friends.
At the end he warns both countries that both countries are overconfident in their stance and actions. He cautions both the countries that overconfident leads to missteps and missteps lead to chaos between them. China has experienced as first rank power player in global politics while US also never experienced as second rank power player in geopolitical calculus. Both the countries has yet not mitigate over power transition. If power transition is not smooth then there is a possibility that future would be full of chaos and instability.
As the Mr. Kishore’s book contain some answers how to resolve this problems through rational discourse. I recommend all of you to must read this book to known about US-China geopolitical contest. Last but never least this book has so many loose end which needs to be explore in future.
Conclusion
In this book, Mr. Kishore has artistically slotted down US-China geo-political contest in twenty-first century. In first half of book, he has warn US to reevaluate its national strategy while in second half of book he mentioned that west has the need to understand China and simultaneously China has to its foreign policy in most sincere way
