China and India: Great Power Rivals.

• Author: Basrur, Rajesh
• Position: Book review

China and India: Great Power Rivals. By Mohan Malik. Boulder & London: First Forum Press, 2011. Hardcover: 467pp.

Analyses of the changing global power balance have focused largely on the rise of China and the relative decline of American power. There is a growing literature on the rise of India as a third power trailing behind them, but detailed scholarly analyses on the China-India relationship are far fewer. Mohan Malik's China and India: Great Power Rivals comes as a welcome contribution. An unabashed realist who believes in the centrality of power and interest in an international system that privileges conflict over cooperation, Malik rubbishes the notion of "Chindia"--a condominium of the two rising states--as wishful thinking. More broadly, he rejects the liberal notion that the world is shifting towards interdependence and multilateralism and argues that on-going shifts in the global balance of power are a recipe for trouble. China and India are increasingly at odds over the security dilemma accompanying their rise: as each moves to protect its widening interests, the other sees it as a growing threat.

But the problem goes deeper than that. Both are "civilization-states" trying to "regain lost greatness" (p. 28) which inevitably brings them into confrontation. Part I of the book outlines their strategic cultures or belief systems and the ways in which they view each other. Whereas the dominant Indian approach is a mixed one that advocates both engagement and balancing, the Chinese perspective is shown as more hardline and focused on containing India. Part II spotlights a range of key areas--from the border to multilateral institutions--in which the two states have divergent interests. Their territorial dispute centred on the historical status of Tibet constitutes a central problem. Malik rejects China's historical claims over Tibet and shows that, for much of its history, Tibet was either independent or autonomous. The border remains the chief potential site for a localized conflict that could cause China and India to "stumble into war" (p. 157). The argument supports the widespread perception that China's external tensions--with not only India, but also several Southeast Asian states and the United States--have much to do with its lack of domestic legitimacy, which impels Beijing to lean on nationalism for regime support. Malik also highlights the role of Pakistan as the cornerstone of China's efforts to contain India, to which end...