Backlash: China’s Struggle for Influence in Central Asia by Bradley Jardine and Edward Lemon

"Backlash challenges the way we think about global security – and about whose voices have been left out of that conversation. This is not just a regional study – this is about global power, the politics of fear and the ways that justice, accountability and the rights of those most vulnerable can be silenced. An important and often unnerving book" – Peter Frankopan, Professor of Global History, University of Oxford

How have Central Asians responded to China’s growing role in their countries? Can Beijing maintain its dominant position in an increasingly hostile region?

Central Asia is at the forefront of China’s efforts to assert itself as a major world power. Since 1991, Beijing has emerged as the region’s main investor, creditor and trade partner, as well as an increasingly important security provider. But its growing influence has met opposition: in recent years, anti-China protests have erupted across Central Asia, threatening Beijing’s shaky regional hegemony.

Bradley Jardine and Edward Lemon examine how Central Asians are pushing back against China’s global ambitions, and trace Beijing’s attempts to manage its image and secure its interests in response. Drawing on over a decade of fieldwork, Backlash reveals the uncertainties of China’s rise. Far from being the omnipotent strategist often depicted in international media, Beijing is making significant missteps, alienating local people and becoming entangled in costly interventions to protect its citizens and investments. Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 undermined Moscow’s regional position, creating opportunities for China to expand its role. But to do so, it must contend with the agency of Central Asians themselves: their interests, policies and priorities.

This incisive book exposes the unravelling of China’s alternative to the American-led global order, highlighting both elite and grassroots actors forcing Beijing to adapt its approach.

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