In East Asia, nationalism never acquired quite as bad a name as it did in Europe, and it is not uncommon to hear politicians go on record with nationalistic statements. Yet, it is a force that is often disruptive of international relations and dangerous for domestic politics if it gets out of bounds.
China has experienced an upsurge of nationalism in recent years that is viewed as a matter of concern by politicians in East Asia and elsewhere because it coincides with the country's emergence on the world stage as a major power. "China's New Nationalism" is a useful and enlightened account of the currents that are feeding this surge.
Where does China's new nationalism come from, and why did it surface when it did? Popular explanations by Western observers allege that it is an outgrowth of China's state-dominated society, a top-down movement promoted by government propaganda to fill the void left by the waning attraction of communism. Peter Hays Gries, professor of political science at the University of Colorado, thoroughly discredits this view.