Friends and Enemies

Friends and Enemiesdelivers a lucid and provocative history of one of the worldrs"s largest and most successful political organizations, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Grounding his account in the origins of the CCP, Brown charts its early struggles and the emergence of the leadership of Mao Zedong in the 1930s, before unravelling the role of the Party during the Second World War and the vicious internecine struggle that culminated in the CCPrs"s ascent to power in 1949. The narrative tackles the successes and failures of the CCP in the post-war era, analysing this chequered period with a close eye to the internal machinations of the Party, and then boldly considers the prospects of the CCP in the future. Brown produces a forthright analysis of where the Party stands in the 21st century, and assesses its three greatest challenges energy, the environment and the economy before culminating in a discussion of the potential for democratic reform and the risks the Party faces while it attempts to become a modern party in charge of a globally important economy.

Dr Kerry Brown is Senior Fellow on the Asia Programme, Chatham House Associate of the China Policy Institute, Nottingham University; and was a Visiting Fellow, East Asia Studies Centre, London School of Economics. He is a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. His publications include Struggling Giant (Anthem Press 2007), and The Rise of the Dragon (Chandos, 2008).