My second run on this contemporary work. First read when it came out in 2016. Author spent a considerable amount of his lifetime in China. What a sophisticated and accurate take on the current state of the Republic. Amazed by his predictions on the concentration of power as China slides deeper into authoritarian under Xi, and how its economic downturn unfold.
A bit boring, as all political works are, but worth a read.

Very easy to read and understand with relatively little background knowledge regarding China in a contemporary context. With this book having been published a few years ago now. It is already easy to establish some of the predictions made by the author and how many are already proving to be true, and how some are not quite what he thought. An insightful read to be sure.

Political scientists David Shambaugh take on four possible future courses for China: neo-totalitarianism, hard authoritarianism (which he argues is the current practice), soft authoritarianism (which they had a decade ago, he argues), or neo Democracy. He considers the middle two options the most likely and works through the implications in the areas of economics, politics and foreign policy in separate chapters devoted to each. It demonstrates Shambaugh's lifelong study of China, thoughtfulness, and ability to change his mind as circumstances change.

Managed to read this whole book about China's future and i still don't understand much about China. I do agree with some of his points though except for his persistant belief that China should become some sort of democracy