Friday, October 15, 2021
12:30 PM – 1:30 PM EDT
Zoom Event
Join us for a talk on how modern China’s five paramount leaders have shaped the country.
The event will be held virtually, with a lecture by the author, a discussion between the two speakers, and a moderated Q&A with the audience. Please send advance questions to the Elliott School Research team at esiaresearch@email.gwu.edu.
About the Book
In China’s Leaders: From Mao to Now, renowned Sinologist David Shambaugh offers a refreshing account of China’s dramatic post-revolutionary history through the prism of those who ruled it. Exploring the persona, formative socialization, psychology, and professional experiences of each leader, he shows how their differing leadership styles and ruling tactics shaped China domestically and internationally: Mao was a populist tyrant, Deng a pragmatic Leninist, Jiang a bureaucratic politician, Hu a technocratic apparatchik, and Xi a modern emperor. Covering the full scope of these leaders’ personalities and power, this is an illuminating guide to China’s modern history and understanding how the country has become the superpower of today.
Author
David Shambaugh is the Gaston Sigur Professor of Asian Studies, Political Science, & International Affairs at the George Washington University, and the founding Director of the China Policy Program in the Elliott School of International Affairs. He is an internationally recognized authority and award-winning author on contemporary China and the international relations of Asia. An active public intellectual and frequent commentator in the international media, he serves on numerous editorial boards, and has been a consultant to governments, research institutions, foundations, universities, corporations, banks, and investment funds. As an author, Dr. Shambaugh has published more than 30 books and 300 articles, including most recently Where Great Powers Meet (Oxford, 2020), China & the World (Oxford, 2020) and China’s Future (Polity, 2016). He holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Michigan.
Moderator
Alyssa Ayres is the Dean of the George Washington University Elliott School of International Affairs, with a background as a foreign policy practitioner and award-winning author with senior experience in the government, nonprofit, and private sectors. Her work focuses primarily on India’s role in the world and on U.S. relations with South Asia in the larger Indo-Pacific. Before joining the Elliott School, she was a Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia under the Obama administration. Her book about India’s rise on the world stage, Our Time Has Come: How India is Making Its Place in the World, was published by Oxford University Press in 2018. She holds a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago.
