The India-China Relationship: Rivalry and Engagement

As the international system confronts the political realities of a new century, the two emerging powers of Asia, India and China, Continue a long and tangled relationship. Given their contested borders, their nuclear rivalry, their competition for influence in Asia, their growing economic relations, and their internal problems, interaction between these two powers will deeply affect not only stability and prosperity in the South Asian region, but also in the wider Asia-Pacific.

Taking a multidisciplinary approach, this volume brings together scholars from political science, history, economics, international relations, and security studies to add depth to our understanding of India-China relations. The book is divided into sections that provide the historical context and circumstances of relations between the two countries and also offer nuanced commentaries on important bilateral issues.

The contributors address three common issues: The similarities and differences between the two countries' strategic cultures, domestic circumstances; the broader international contexts for their bilateral relations; and the parallels and tensions that exist between their national interests.

This book will be of interest to the academic community including political scientists, historians, and economists, in addition to a professional audience of diplomats, military personnel, and journalists, as also informed lay readers.

About the Author:

Francine R. Frankel is Founding Director of the Center for the Advanced Study of India and the Madam Lal Sobti Professor for the Study of Contemporary India and Professor of Political Science at the University of Pennsylvania. Her books include Dominance and State Power in Modern India (OUP, 1989), India's Political Economy: The Gradual Revolution 1947-1977 (OUP, 1979) and Transforming India: Social and Political Dynamics of Democracy (OUP, 2000) co-edited with Rajeev Bhargava, Zoya Hasan and M.S.A. Rao.

Harry Harding is Dean of the Elliott School of International Affairs and Professor of International Affairs and Political Science at George Washington University. His books include A Fragile Relationship: The United States and China since 1972, China's Second Revolution: Reform After Mao (1987), and Organizing China: The Problem of Bureaucracy, 1949-1976 (1981).