China is a revisionist state. It wants to challenge the existing international order -- or at least the way things work in Asia. The country's history, its size and its culture all confirm China's belief that it is the rightful leader of this region.
How can Beijing bring about that dominance? Traditionally, that is a job for the armed forces (frequently acting as the handmaiden of economic interests, to be sure). Is the Chinese military up to the assignment?
That is the question Solomon Karmel, a lecturer at the London School of Economics, takes up in this slim but convincing study. He concludes that, "by almost every measure, China is a developing state.
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