Human Security and the Chinese State: Historical Transformations and the Modern Quest for Sovereignty

Offering a fresh and unique approach to surveying the historical transformations of the Chinese state, Human Security and the Chinese State focuses on human security in contrast with the twenty-first century obsession with national security. Building upon Hobbes' Leviathan, Robert Bedeski demonstrates how the sovereignty of the state reflects primary human concerns of survival, indeed, that fundamental purpose of the state is the preservation of the life of its citizens. Combining political science theory with historical literary, cinematic and sociological materials and ideas, Bedeski has produced a truly original approach to the last two thousand years of Chinese political history, explaining the longevity of the imperial Confucian state and locating the dilemma of modern China in its incomplete sovereignty.

Robert E. Bedeski is Professor Emeritus, Department of Political Science, and Program Professor Emeritus, Centre for Asia-Pacific Initiatives (CAPI) at the University of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.