Geoff Raby

This is a work based on deep scholarship, by two leading historians of China. The writing is clear and precise, the narrative richly informed by primary sources. Personal stories of individuals are used to great effect. The book revolves around two major inflection points. First is the Cultural Revolution launched by Mao Zedong in 1966 to entrench his authority and to see off political opponents. ... (read more)

What a difference a decade makes. When the second decade of the millennium opened, the United States was advocating an open door for trade and investment with China. In November 2011, President Barack Obama, in a speech to the Australian Parliament, revealed Washington’s new strategic and economic policy: the Pivot to Asia. A month earlier, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton published an articl ... (read more)

Two of the defining figures of our age are China’s President Xi Jinping and Russia’s President Vladimir Putin. Both are authoritarian rulers intent on reshaping the global Western-led order. They despise and mistrust the United States equally, and, to justify their hold on power, promote a nationalist and civilisationist vision that elevates the long historical and cultural roots of their soci ... (read more)