Peaceful War: How the Chinese Dream and the American Destiny Create a New Pacific World Order

(Paperback)

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Peaceful War is an epic analysis of the unfolding drama between the clashing forces of the Chinese dream and American destiny. Just as the American experiment evolved, Deng Xiaopings China has been using Hamiltonian means to Jeffersonian ends and borrowed the idea of the American Dream as a model for Chinas rise. The Chinese dream, as reinvented by President Xi Jinping, continues Dengs experiment into the twenty-first century. With a possible fiscal cliff in America and a social cliff in China, the author revisits the history of Sino-American relations to explore the prospects for a return to the long-forgotten Beijing-Washington love affair launched in the trade-for-peace era. President Barack Obamas Asia pivot strategy and the new Silk Road plan of President Xi could eventually create a pacific New World Order of peace and prosperity for all. The question is: will China ultimately evolve into a democratic nation by rewriting the American Dream in Chinese characters, and how might this transpire

Reviews

A dazzling analysis, full of history, philosophy, ironic similarities and unusual distinctions, fears and hopes, but mostly dreamsthe kind of dreams Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr. and Nelson Mandela dreamed. For that reason and more, Peaceful War is worth reading. -- Col. Lawrence Wilkerson, former chief of staff to U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell
Luminously situated President Obamas Asia pivot . . . in a rich historical context . . . that is often lost in geopolitical writing. -- Senator Thomas Daschle, former U.S. Senate Majority Leader
No international strategic relationship is more important or more consequential than that between the United States and Chinanow and as far as we can reasonably see into the future. . . . Anyone seeking a holistic understanding of the Sino-U.S. relationshipand where it might be headingshould read this book. -- CIA Director John McLaughlin, former acting director of the Central Intelligence Agency
An innovative analysis that is wise, welcome, and timely. -- Dr. Wei Hongxia, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences
[This book] is a breakthrough that is powerful, inspiring, and visionary. . . . the world should read this book and heed Dr. Mendis wise counsel. -- Professor Wang Dong, Peking University
Another landmark work comparing Chinese and American national discourses and the future of their relations. -- Professor Shen Dingli, Fudan University
Meticulously researched, this unprecedented study of the evolving Sino-American relations is timely, levelheaded, and fair above all else. -- Harvard International Review
Dr. Mendis brings all students of international relations into a long journey of rational soul searching. -- Professor Alexander Huang, Tamkang University
The highest compliment a reader can give an author is to think: I wish Id said that. This imaginative and optimistic book provokes numerous responses of this sort. Mendis counsels historical awareness, cultural sensitivity, and humility as Americans peer across the Pacific to a China intent upon assuming its rightful place in the world. Its hard to think of better advice. -- Dr. Robert Hathaway, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
An important book that changes the way we think about these two superpowers. -- Dr. Shiro Armstrong, Australian National University
A naturalized U.S. citizen, Professor Patrick Mendis . . . is himself an authentic American message to Asia. -- Professor Tang Xiaosong, Guangdong University of Foreign Studies
Innovative work . . . to elucidate some of the compelling internal challenges that lie ahead for the government and the people of China. -- Professor Eric Schwartz, dean of the Humphrey School, University of Minnesota and former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State
A keen analyst, a creative thinker, and a precise writer . . . to guide the Sino-American relationship. -- Ambassador Shaun Donnelly, vice president of the U.S. Council for International Business
Unique perspective and wide-angled vision. -- Ambassador Jayantha Dhanapala, president of the Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs
A delightful glimpse into the future. -- Professor Niu Meili, Sun Yat-sen University
Engaging book. -- Dr. Parag Khanna, author of How to Run the World
Mendis book . . . both nations could learn to appreciate each other better. -- Professor Chuanjie Zhang, Tsinghua University
An intriguing and fascinating study. -- Dr. Niklas Swanstrm, Director of the Institute for Security and Development Study, Stockholm
This book is an important guide for broader policy dialogue among strategic thinkers in both Beijing and Washington. -- Edward Rhodes, dean of the School of Public Policy, George Mason University

Author Bio

Patrick Mendis is a distinguished senior fellow and an affiliate professor of public and international affairs at George Mason Universitys School of Public Policy. He is also a distinguished visiting professor of international relations at the Center for American Studies of the Guangdong University of Foreign Studies in Guangzhou, China. An alumnus of the Harvard Kennedy School of Government and the Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota, Dr. Mendis has worked for the U.S. Departments of Agriculture, Defense, Energy, and State as well as the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, the World Bank, and the United Nations. He is a commissioner of the U.S. National Commission for UNESCO, an advisor to Harvard International Review, and a fellow of the World Academy of Art and Science.