‘Friends and Enemies’ delivers a lucid and provocative history of one of the world’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 CCP’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.

‘Friends and Enemies’ is based on a combination of research and Brown’s own experiences as a business person and diplomat in China, where he lived for seven years. It has also benefited from the input of analysts of the Party from the UK and US, and from talks with Party officials at senior and working level in China.

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).

China in the 21st Century

Introduction; Chapter One: A Disease of the Heart: The Rise to Power of the CCP; Chapter Two: Revolutionary Administrator: The Party in Power; Chapter Three: The Party in the Reform Era; Chapter Four: The Chinese Communist Party from 1992 to 2008; Chapter Five: The Challenges Facing China and What they mean for the CCP; Chapter Six: The Chinese Communist Party as it moves into the 21st Century; Conclusion: Gambling with the Devil: Why the Fate of the CCP Matters to Us All