New Book - China's Changing Role in the Middle East, by Zhang Chuchu

I edit a series for Routledge called Changing Dynamics in Asia-Middle East Relations, which is a fun way to develop and promote interesting work while keeping track of literature I might otherwise miss. If you have an idea for a book, check out the series homepage and if it looks like a potentially good fit, feel free to get in touch. The picture above shows the books that have come out so far, including a great new one from Zhang Chuchu, China’s Changing Role in the Middle East: Filling a Power Vacuum? Chuchu is one of the top scholars in China working on MENA and is the deputy director of the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at Fudan University. I was really excited when she proposed this book and suspect a lot of you will find it useful for your work. Hopefully I can get her to do a book talk here in coming weeks.

From the book’s description:

This book considers China’s recent engagement in the Middle East, to what extent its approach has fundamentally changed, and how this role change has been received by regional and other actors. Based on content analysis, qualitative interviews, and archival records analysis, the author examines the evolution of Beijing’s involvement in the region. Analysis of first-hand and full-sample data contributes to the role theory literature and has important policy implications, as it points out the main difference between established powers such as the United States and EU and rising extra regional powers and sheds light on what China’s growing economic, political, and strategic clout means for the geopolitical landscape of the Middle East. This text will be of interest to scholars and students of politics, international relations, China’s foreign policy, and Middle Eastern and North African studies, along with journalists, researchers of think tanks, analysts of investment banks and transnational enterprises, and policymakers.