China's Rising Foreign Ministry: Practices and Representations of Assertive Diplomacy

by Dylan M.H. Loh

China's rise and its importance to international relations as a discipline-defining phenomenon is well recognized. Yet when scholars analyze China's foreign relations, they typically focus on Beijing's military power, economic might, or political leaders. As a result, most traditional assessments miss a crucial China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA). In China's Rising Foreign Ministry , Dylan M.H Loh upends conventional understandings of Chinese diplomacy by underlining the importance of the ministry and its diplomats in contemporary Chinese foreign policy. The book explains how MOFA gradually became the main interface of China's foreign policy and the primary vehicle through which the idea of 'China' is produced, articulated, and represented on the world stage. Through a multi-year and multi-sited fieldwork study of China's MOFA, Loh investigates the practices and experiences of the actors that produce diplomacy and documents the ministry's evolution into one of the most significant institutions in China's rise. A theoretically innovative and ambitious book, China's Rising Foreign Ministry contributes an original reading of Chinese foreign policy, with wide-ranging implications for international relations. By shedding light on the dynamics of Chinese diplomacy and how assertiveness is constructed, Loh provides readers with a comprehensive appraisal of China's foreign ministry and the role it performs in China's re-emergence.

Genres: China

240 pages, Hardcover

Published April 2, 2024

Reviews

[Margo Cohen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another book for thesis!

I thought this one was pretty good… I’m also pretty sure it’s also actually this guys Ph.D with a cardboard cover and picture on it. There’s simply no other possible reason to spend that much time on methodology and theory.

The analysis itself is pretty solid, but I’m still coming away with way more questions than answers on the causes of wolf warriors as a phenomenon + structural/environmental factors in this behavior in the MOFA, which I guess is a good thing? I guess it just means I have more work to do on thesis(gasp).

Also, this is officially book #45 for the year! Goodreads reading goal complete✅!!!!

4/5 for a dry but informative interrogation of the MOFA, plus excellent use of primary sources!

[Ethan Knecht · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dense on the theory (as to be expected), but overall has some great details on China’s foreign ministry from the interviews and provides a strong argument for distinctive practices of Chinese diplomats