Over the course of the last 30 years, China has evolved from a poor developing nation on the verge of bankruptcy in the late 1970s to an emerging economic juggernaut and a key producer of many goods that the world needs. Today, China is a true economic superpower and a central player at the table of capitalist nations that shape the global economy. As China enters this role as economic superpower, many questions remain about the stability of the political system and the perceived (relative) lack of progress in the areas of political reform and civil society. Many scholars and observers of China view China's political evolution with great scepticism and even scorn. The argument in this camp is that China's political elites have been very adept at creating the conditions for economic growth while siphoning off resources for themselves and maintaining a political system that allows them to stay in power. Another (smaller) group of scholars view China's political reforms in gradual terms, viewing corruption as much less of a problem than the former camp and instead emphasizing the Chinese government's gradual progress toward the construction of a new institutional system of governance. Sitting firmly in the latter camp, Yu Keping's Globalization and Change in China's Governance enters this discussion with the goal of illuminating the structure and complexities that define China's systems of governance. More than this, the book attempts to examine the relationship between globalization and the evolution of China's political and civil systems. It will be of interest as a reference guide for students interested in political and social change in Chinese society.

This book catalogues many different aspects of the governance and democratization project that have been occurring in reform-era China. This is an extremely important project if only because China receives so little credit for the attempts at institutional reform that it has made over the last decade or more. In fact, since the early 1990s (really since the beginning of Zhu Rongji's reign as Vice Premier and then Premier), China has been engaged in a process of institutional reform that has steadily transformed the Chinese civil and political systems. It has not been the commitment to radical reform that we saw throughout much of the former Soviet Empire, and Chinese officials do not talk much about the political reform processes. But it is a process that is well under way nevertheless. Guided by a Cold War mentality in the State Department and an economic containment mentality in Congress, the American public has consistently failed to recognize the processes or magnitude of change that is occurring in these realms. No matter what your view on the corruption of political elites in China or the authoritarian nature of the political system that exists there, anyone who spends time in China on a regular basis will recognize the changes in individual civil liberties this society has seen over the last decade.

In this book, readers will find detailed discussions of a variety of topics that touch the general areas of governance and civil society. Chapters cover topics like the capacity of governance in the public sector; the governance systems that are emerging in rural and urban China; civic organizations in rural China; an in-depth discussion of the emergence of civil society across China and the various civil organizations that are emerging there. There are just so many details presented here that the book will be extremely useful for scholars across a variety of different fields. The overall tone and concept of the book is that China has made significant progress in the area of democratization and governance. Unfortunately, the world often sees democratization in simplistic terms (one person, one vote) and we have little appreciation for how much work China has actually done in the hard work of building the institutional foundation of a civil society.

The main weaknesses of the book are two-fold. First, some readers will be uncomfortable with the lack of scepticism in the presentation of what the Chinese government reports as its progress in these areas. The disposition is basically that, the Chinese government says it is doing X, so we must assume and appreciate that it is doing X. As a reviewer who is often frustrated by the lack of acknowledgement that progress is, in fact, being made in the areas of governance, civil and democratic reforms in China, even I am uncomfortable with the lack of critical reflection on how the data are gathered or what stands for evidence. Second, in a related vein, there is no methodological discussion or critical assessment of data in this volume whatsoever. It seems clear from the writing style and presentation of ideas that this book is not intended for an academic audience, however, there is nothing presented as to what constitutes evidence or proof of changes discussed. There is an appendix that is supposed to explain evidence of changes discussed, however, active researchers will not recognize this as adequate discussion of data, sources, and evidence of change.

These weaknesses aside, the book is a rich contribution to the study of governance and the changes in civil society that are occurring across China. It is a welcome addition to the literature in this area.