China Resurrected

A Modern Geopolitical History

China's emergence as a leading global power is not something that happened suddenly. Instead it was a long and gradual process that largely took place throughout the whole of the twentieth century. It was preceded, in the second half of the nineteenth century, by a phase in which Chinese officials became increasingly aware of the country's geopolitical weakness. And it was followed, from circa 2008, by a phase in which China's leadership has become increasingly aware of its geopolitical strength. The book's aim is to help understand the significance of China as a global power by tracing the international role China has played from 1840 to late 2024 from a geopolitical perspective. The story of China's demise and resurrection as a great power is told against the background of the confrontation with other powerful countries.

The book was originally published in Dutch by Prometheus in 2020. An updated and revised version was published in 2025.

In September 2026, Bellaterra published the Spanish translation.