Cambridge Review of International Affairs | 2021
China’s infinite transition and its limits: Economic, military and political dimensions
Abstract
behaviour or of the Chinese political system. The (geo)political message of a need to resist China is presented as self-evident and is thus reinforced. Medcalf himself understands the implications of a book that is designed to influence as much as inform: ‘Words shape the world. An imagined space on a map both reflects and influences real and palpable things like military deployments, patterns of prosperity, and calculations of risk among the world’s most powerful states’ (p3). This book – endorsed by a former Australian prime minister and a former US director of national intelligence – is part of an effort to shape the thinking and policies of governments in a way that would challenge China and dilute its influence by bringing more voices to the table. The book demonstrates that it is this political agenda that spurs the current construction of the ‘Indo-Pacific,’ around and in response to the People’s Republic.