Books

The Chinese State, Oil and Energy Security

Abstract: Monique Taylor analyses the policy rationale and institutional underpinnings of China's state-led or neomercantilist oil strategy, and its development, set against the wider context of economic transformation as the country transitions from a centrally planned to market economy.

Reviews:

“In this book, Monique Taylor has provided a thoughtful and refreshing analysis of China’s oil industry that should be read by students, scholars and policy analysts interested in the governance of this country. The line of argument is well-founded and convincing.” (Philip Andrews-Speed, The China Quarterly, June 2015)

“This book provides a comprehensive account of both internal and domestic outcomes of the interaction between the party and China’s state capitalism. By skilfully using the framework of bureaucratic authoritarianism, Taylor offers a new perspective on China’s policy process and its implications for the country’s domestic situation and foreign relations. The oil industry is used as a superb case study to illustrate China’s role in the global economy. Taylor concludes her account by contrasting the liberal foundations of the current world order with the success of China’s ‘statist oil strategy’ and its state-directed capitalism in general, which could be ‘a credible alternative’ ... Taylor’s study is a good point of departure for analysing the actions of China’s oil companies in the context of future developments in the global oil sector.” (Susann Handke, China Information, November 2015)

China’s Digital Authoritarianism: A Governance Perspective

Abstract: This book provides a governance perspective on China’s digital authoritarianism by examining the political and institutional dynamics of the country’s internet sector in a historical context. Using leading theories of authoritarian institutions, it discusses China’s approach to the internet and methods of implementation in terms of party-state institutions and policy processes. This provides a much-needed ‘inside out’ perspective on digital authoritarianism that avoids the perception of China as some coherent and static monolith. The study also offers a powerful rationale for China’s cyber sovereignty as an externalisation of its domestic internet governance framework and broader political-economic context. As China shifts from rule-taker to rule-maker in world politics, the Chinese Dream (zhongguo meng) is now going global. Beijing’s digital authoritarian toolkit is being promoted and exported to other authoritarian regimes, making China a major driver of digital repression at the global level.

Reviews:

“China's Digital Authoritarianism argues that Chinese legislation actively promotes the creation of dual-use products, encouraging the private sector to invest in high-tech innovations with both commercial and military applications … Monique Taylor’s book highlights how Chinese innovations in next-generation technologies, such as artificial intelligence and quantum computing, are directly used in the development of modern military equipment.” (Rough translation from a feature article on my book and interview in Finland’s premier business newspaper, Kauppalehti, 8 February 2023)

“This work provides an overarching elaboration on digital authoritarianism and the means by which it is sustained for a longer period of time. This work is beneficial in understanding the rigidity of the Chinese political regime maintained by digitalisation and its institutionalisation… The author has been successful in estimating the Chinese ambitions, which can be seen explicitly in its various plans, projects and agendas, specifically in Xi rule, which has massively built a centralised, top-down internet governance ecosystem, phasing out external interferences and limiting its people internet outreach, thus curbing the scope of democracy to flourish in all of its aspects.” (Dharmendra Kumar, China Report, November 2024)

"The historical, theoretical, normative, and empirical base of the study allowed [Taylor] to consider digital authoritarianism through the prism of the constitutional principle of authoritarian centralism, which is the basis of the chosen model of state power organization in China. As a result, the book formulates and systematizes the factors that characterize this model in its development, influencing the current state of Chinese constitutionalism." (Vache Kalashyan, Journal of Political Science, May 2023)