Ruling, Resources and Religion in China: Managing the Multiethnic State in the 21st Century.

• Author: Georgieff, Jack
• Position: Book review

RULING, RESOURCES AND RELIGION IN CHINA: Managing the Multiethnic State in the 21st Century

Author. Elizabeth Van Wie Davis

Published by. Palgrave MacMillan, New York, 2012, 198pp, US$90.

China is all the rage among international relations and analysts at present, now more than ever. As an economic and rising military juggernaut that has repositioned the geo-political centre of world politics towards the Indo-Pacific, every aspect of Chinas politics--domestic and international--is under the microscope. In particular, the rise of ethnic identity united with religious differences can be driven by the presence of valuable resources to create a nationalism underpinned by economic factors. This is true throughout the Indo-Pacific region. It is also true in China. Whilst many predict that the authoritarian regime will inevitably crumble to such internal frictions, some seek to answer whether this might actually occur. To this discussion Elizabeth Van Wie Davis makes a superb contribution.

Van Wie Davis structures the book in a logical fashion, beginning with a brief introduction that clearly states the two major challenges for the governance of China; namely resources and religion. Using the backdrop of the post-Cold War global dynamics, she asserts that religion and ethnic movements in particular are becoming more fused, which can in turn motivate people beyond the role of the nation state. Resources lead to economic power, a dominant source of power. All together 'it is in this environment that China rules'. Tibetans and the Uyghurs constitute the two case studies for this book. The introduction also prefaces the wider regional implications of energy and extraction and rising religious movements in Central Asia, which adds to the breadth that this book covers. The reader quickly realises this is an issue not unique to China.

The main text of the book can be split into three parts, which makes for a clear style and easy understanding even for a reader with little background on the subject. The first two chapters focus on governance and leadership in China, explicating how China has managed ethnic violence and unrest. Economic incentives are one tool for dealing with this, but are not a catchall. The generations of leaders since Mao Zedong show how we have arrived to the current 'fifth generation' where China needs to drastically globalise its energy sourcing. Xinjiang--the province where ethnic Uyghurs and a majority adhering to Islam live--sits...