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By John W.
Garver
Publisher:
University of Washington Press
Pub Date: 2006
ISBN: 0-295-98631-X & 9780295986319
"Could not be
timelier...At a time when Washington is trying to cajole China into helping to
halt Iranian efforts to build nuclear weapons and long-range missiles, diplomats
and scholars ought to put this solid, sober, well-researched, reasonably priced
book near the top of their reading lists." - -Choice Magazine
Iran's nuclear aspirations increasingly dominate its relations with the United
States and Europe. China remains one of Iran's strongest allies on the Security
Council, and also its most likely supplier of technology and assistance, built
on decades of close economic and military relations. Iran is enjoying strong new
influence in the Middle East and Asia following record oil profits and Shi'i
victories in Iraqi parliamentary elections. Like Iran, China fought for decades
to increase its self-reliance and geopolitical influence after painful
experiences under European colonialism, which spurred nationalist revolutions.
With China and Iran: Ancient Partners in a Post-Imperial World, John Garver
breaks new ground on the relationship between the People's Republic of China and
the Islamic Republic of Iran. Grounding his survey in the twin concepts of
civilization and power, Garver explores the relationship between these two
ancient and proud peoples, each of which consider the other a peer and a partner
in their mutual determination to build a post-Western-dominated Asia. Successive
governments of both China and Iran have recognized substantial national
capabilities in each other, capabilities that allow the countries to achieve
their own national interests through cooperation. These interests have varied -
from countering Soviet expansionism to resisting U.S. unilateralism - but the
cooperative relationship between the two nations has remained constant.
In his compelling analysis, Garver explores the evolution of Sino-Iranian
relations through several phases, including Iran under the shah and before the
1979 revolution; from the 1979 revolution to 1989, a year marked both by the end
of the Iran-Iraq war and the beginning of conflict in Sino-U.S. relations; and
from 1989 to 2004. China and Iran includes discussion of the current debates at
the International Atomic Energy Agency over Iran's nuclear programs and China's
role in assisting these programs and in supporting Iran in international
debates. Garver examines China's involvement in Iran's efforts to modernize its
military, including China's offer of weapons, capital goods, and engineering
services in exchange for Iranian oil, suggesting links between this energy
exchange and China's support for Iran in political arenas.
In today's political climate, where China is recognized as a rising and
increasingly influential global power and Iran as one of the most powerful
nations in the Middle East, this book presents a crucial analysis of a topic of
utmost importance to scholars and the general public today.
John W. Garver is professor of international affairs at the Georgia Institute of
Technology. Among his previous books are Protracted Contest: Sino-Soviet Rivalry
in the Twentieth Century and Face Off: China, the United States, and Taiwan's
Democratization.
Quotes:
"An excellent study of complex and understudied
issues. It is absolutely seminal in the sense that there is no book at all
on this topic, and precious few articles. China and Iran is a major
contribution to the field." - Kamran Aghaie, University of Texas at Austin
"Garver has again proven himself to be the nation's leading scholar of
China's foreign relations. This pathbreaking scholarship provides a
much-needed corrective to media caricatures and fills a void of reliable
information." - David Shambaugh, George Washington University
"Garver's painstaking research shows how China and Iran try consistently to
resist perceived American hegemony and invoke their ancient relations to
legitimize the convergence of their national interests. Garver
empathetically probes these relations from the perspectives of their
leaders, rather than his own American lenses." - R. K. Ramazani, University
of Virginia
"Garver's incisive and lucid work draws attention to the range and depth of
China-Iran cultural interactions and how these shape their perceptions and
projection of powerÉ. These rigorous, refreshing, innovative insights on the
intricacies of regional politics are likely to recast our thinking on power
relationships in Asia and the Middle East." - Saaed Shafqat, Columbia
University
"A tour de force of the highest importance to U.S. policymakers and scholars
alike." - Ambassador Thomas Graham Jr.
"The first of its kind, Garver's timely book combines exciting insights on
politics, ideology, Islam, and energy, as well as military and nuclear
policy. This will be the standard work for some time to come." - Yitzhak
Shichor, University of Haifa
Reviews:
"With this study, the author has written on a
rarely discussed topic: Chinese-Iranian relations. He has done us a great
service in doing so, not only by taking on an unusual topic, but also in
doing it with gratifying length. . . . Garver has succeeded in capturing
both the current context of the Sino-Iranian relationship and the much
deeper historical context of their goals and attitudes. . . . The book
deserves a wide audience." -The Historian
"This thoughtful exploration of the important but little-understood
relationship between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the People's Republic
of China could not be timelier. . . . [Garver] provides precisely what
policy makers need: historical perspective on Chinese-Iranian contact going
back to imperial times, but concentrating on the late 20th century." -
Choice
"Garver's analysis of the past and future of the relationship is thoroughly
researched, analytically astute, and lucidly presented... Garver sees the
relationship he is studying from the inside - what it means to be
participants in their own mental worlds, from the outside - how it works
geostrategically, and from all around, in historical, cultural, diplomatic,
strategic, and economic dimensions." -Political Science Quarterly
"[A] great contribution to our knowledge of Chinese foreign policy and its
achievements with an important partner at a time of US preeminence. This
work will appeal to the policymaker and professor alike, and would be
suitable for both upper undergraduate and especially graduate courses.
Whether readers are concerned with China's rise, the emergence of a more
powerful Iran or interests and constraints for the United States in engaging
these regional powers, China and Iran makes for an exacting, insightful and
valuable read." -The China Journal
"A comprehensive examination of the drivers, content, and possible
implications of the relationship between China and Iran." -Middle East
Journal
"Interesting and timely." -IIAS Newsletter
"Garver's work presents valuable insights into this relationship built on
centuries of economic relations." -Open Spaces
"[A]n incisive and remarkably lucid historical overview. Garver's China and
Iran is likely to recast our thinking on the dynamics and study of bilateral
relations." - Dawn
Table of Contents:
List of illustrations
Preface and Acknowledgments
1. The Spirit of Sino-Iranian Relations: Civilization and Power
2. The PRC-Kingdom of Iran Relationship, 1971-78
3. Revolutionary Iran and Postrevolutionary China, 1979-88
4. Sino-Iranian Partnership and Post-Cold War U.S. Unipolar Preeminence,
1989-2004
5. The Xinjiang Factor in PRC-IRI Relations
6. China's Assistance to Iran's Nuclear Programs
7. China and Iran's Military Development Efforts
8. China-Iran Cooperation and the United States
9. The Sino-Iranian Energy-Economic Relationship
10. Patterns of Sino-Iranian Relations
Appendix. Chronology of Iran-China Relations
Notes
Bibliography
Index
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