The end of engagement: America's China and Russia experts and U.S. strategy since 1989. By David M McCourt. New York:  Oxford University Press. 2024. 320pp. £64.00. Isbn 978 0 19776 520 3. Available as e-book.

Olivia Cheung

doi:10.1093/ia/iiaf095

The end of engagement: America's China and Russia experts and U.S. strategy since 1989. By David M McCourt. New York: Oxford University Press. 2024. 320pp. £64.00. Isbn 978 0 19776 520 3. Available as e-book.

Olivia Cheung

Research output: Contribution to journal › Book/Film/Article review

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Abstract

Great power competition between the United States, China and Russia has become the main theme of international politics today. Where free trade and international cooperation were once the primary points of concern, now they take a back seat to geopolitics and security. What explains these seismic shifts? The dominant explanation centres on international structural factors, namely the rise of China, which has weakened the US and emboldened an anti-western Russia. A complementary line of explanation blames the politics of the countries' leaders. In The end of engagement, David McCourt searches for a different answer. Rather than taking theories of International Relations or politics as the starting-point, McCourt adopts a political sociological approach. He searches from within America's China and Russia knowledge communities to provide an insider account. Those included in his research are/were government officials, diplomats, academics, think tankers, journalists, businesspeople and arms controllers who deal(t) with China or Russia in a professional capacity.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	1170-1171
Number of pages	1
Journal	International Affairs
Volume	101
Issue number	3
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1093/ia/iiaf095
Publication status	Published - 6 May 2025

Keywords

China
United States
Russia
political sociology
engagement
realism
knowledge communities
international relations

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title = "The end of engagement: America's China and Russia experts and U.S. strategy since 1989. By David M McCourt. New York: Oxford University Press. 2024. 320pp. £64.00. Isbn 978 0 19776 520 3. Available as e-book.",

abstract = "Great power competition between the United States, China and Russia has become the main theme of international politics today. Where free trade and international cooperation were once the primary points of concern, now they take a back seat to geopolitics and security. What explains these seismic shifts? The dominant explanation centres on international structural factors, namely the rise of China, which has weakened the US and emboldened an anti-western Russia. A complementary line of explanation blames the politics of the countries' leaders. In The end of engagement, David McCourt searches for a different answer. Rather than taking theories of International Relations or politics as the starting-point, McCourt adopts a political sociological approach. He searches from within America's China and Russia knowledge communities to provide an insider account. Those included in his research are/were government officials, diplomats, academics, think tankers, journalists, businesspeople and arms controllers who deal(t) with China or Russia in a professional capacity.",

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