I am very happy to announce the forthcoming publication of my book IN THE DRAGON’S SHADOW: SOUTHEAST ASIA IN THE CHINESE CENTURY. Based on three years of research and featuring on-the-ground reporting from ten countries, from the upper Mekong River to the fringes of the South China Sea, the book examines the dramatic effects of China’s rising economic and political power on Southeast Asia, an issue with far-reaching implications for the future balance of power in the Indo-Pacific.
IN THE DRAGON’S SHADOW was published on August 25 (UK) and September 22 (US), via Yale University Press, and is now available for preorder. For American readers, Yale’s publisher listing has options for preorder from various vendors. For those who would like to help out struggling independent bookstores, I recommend ordering via IndieBound or Bookshop.org. The book is also available at Amazon, which will be offering Kindle and audiobook versions. Click here for UK sales options.
If you would like a review copy, or to discuss media/podcast appearances, etc., please don’t hesitate to get in touch at info@sebastianstrangio.com.
Here’s the book’s official publicity blurb:
Today, Southeast Asia stands uniquely exposed to the waxing power of the new China. Three of its nations border China and five are directly impacted by its claims over the South China Sea. All dwell in the lengthening shadow of its influence: economic, political, military, and cultural. As China seeks to restore its former status as Asia’s preeminent power, the countries of Southeast Asia face an increasingly stark choice: flourish within Beijing’s orbit or languish outside of it. Meanwhile, as rival powers including the United States take concerted action to curb Chinese ambitions, the region has emerged as an arena of heated strategic competition.
Drawing on more than a decade of on-the-ground experience, Sebastian Strangio explores the impacts of China’s rise on Southeast Asia, the varied ways in which the countries of the region are responding, and what it might mean for the future balance of power in the Indo-Pacific.
*****
Praise for In the Dragon’s Shadow: Southeast Asia in the Chinese Century
“A penetrating tour de force. It will be a very long time before there is a better account of the past and present dynamics of the ever-more contested sphere of influence to China’s South.” – Chas W. Freeman, Jr., former U.S. Assistant Secretary of Defense
“A superbly well-informed, judicious and eloquent guide to the most important region in the world.” – Pankaj Mishra, author of Age of Anger: A History of the Present
“A wonderfully well-written, wide-ranging, and incisive portrait of China’s relationship with its southern neighbors… Indispensable for understanding one of the most important and often most misinterpreted stories of our day.” – Thant Myint-U, author of The Hidden History of Burma: Race, Capitalism, and the Crisis of Democracy in the 21st Century
“A candid and sometimes harrowing inside-look at China’s rise in the region.” – Brian Eyler, director of the Southeast Asia program at the Stimson Center, and author of The Last Days of the Mighty Mekong
“As the US-China geopolitical contest accelerates in coming decades, Southeast Asia will emerge as a key arena. China has been a neighbor for two thousand years. Yet, the US can still compete here, if it does so deftly, delicately and diplomatically. This insightful book explains how.” – Kishore Mahbubani, former Singapore diplomat and co-author of The ASEAN Miracle
“A timely, deftly-researched, and provocative examination into one of the critical issues of our time: the rising power of China.” – Joshua Kurlantzick, Senior Fellow for Southeast Asia, Council on Foreign Relations
“Enlightening… An expert and lucid synthesis of the historical context and recent developments of Southeast Asia’s rich and complex relations with Beijing.” – John Reed, Financial Times
“A singular guide both to China’s international ambitions and to what will become of the world’s most congested geopolitical region.” – New Statesman
“An insightful account…Strangio’s journalistic writing style makes it superbly readable; he should be applauded for this important and timely contribution, a must read for anyone interested in both the past and likely future of China and South-East Asia.” – Le Hong Hiep, History Today
“Strangio knows his terrain well and guides us through the particularities of each country’s choice, or dilemma, with an eye to the big picture of the Indo-Pacific.” – Alec Ash, The Wire China
“Balanced and well-informed… The work of a journalist with an excellent grip on history.” – Asian Review of Books
“For an American foreign policy community woefully under-focused on Southeast Asia—a region that is both the gateway for China’s global expansion and a ‘testing ground’ for its strategies—In the Dragon’s Shadow is nothing less than a must-read.” – Charles Dunst, American Purpose
“Comprehensive… meticulously researched.” – Rob Gluckman, Nikkei Asia
“Easily one of the best books I’ve read this year.” – Kaiser Kuo, Sinica podcast
“A very relevant work… Chapter by chapter, Strangio provides valuable insights into the countries of Southeast Asia.” – Manya Koetse, What’s On Weibo
“Superbly researched… Could not be more timely and important.” – Sholto Byrnes, The National
“Paint[s] a nuanced, in-depth picture of one of the world’s most religiously, geographically, and politically diverse regions.” – Nishant Dahiya, National Public Radio
“A very good book… The author has succeeded in writing a scholarly book that reads as an incisive, well-documented news analysis.” – Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Director, Institute of Strategic and International Studies (ISIS Thailand)
“Perhaps the most important contribution that Strangio’s book makes is that it emphasizes that these countries have their own agency and interests, and it shows that they are not pawns to be manipulated in a great power struggle between Beijing and Washington.” – Daniel Larison, The American Conservative
“An outstanding explanation of how eight Southeast Asian countries have perceived China’s rise in the region.” – Dr. Jagganath Panda, Strategic Analysis
