Arif Dirlik

The era of global capitalism calls for new global relations, informed by a grasp of contemporary structures of economic, political, and cultural power and by memories of earlier visions of society. Otherwise, Arif Dirlik argues, Eurocentrism and ethnic diversity find expression in conflict.

This pathbreaking, multidisciplinary work challenges our unthinking acceptance of such terms as "Asia Pacific" and "Pacific Rim." Clarifying the hidden power relationships and hegemonic struggles that are disguised by ideological constructions of the region, the contributors uncover fundamental contradictions - including the human costs and consequencesthat underlie the much-celebrated economic boom. In evaluating the idea of "Asia Pacific," the book shifts our focus from abstract relationships between capital and commodities to the human interactions that have played a formative part in the region's constitution. The contributors agree that it is these interactions that constitute the region, rather than the physical boundaries of the Pacific. This revised and updated edition brings in additional essays focusing on conceptualizations of the Pacific, explores interactions among countries in greater depth, and strongly emphasizes peoples within the Pacific area who are routinely ignored in most discussions of the "Rim."

Arif Dirlik’s latest offering is a revisionist perspective on Chinese radicalism in the twentieth century. He argues that the history of anarchism is indispensable to understanding crucial themes in Chinese radicalism. And anarchism is particularly significant now as a source of democratic ideals within the history of the socialist movement in China. Dirlik draws on the most recent scholarship and on materials available only in the last decade to compile the first comprehensive history of his subject available in a Western language. He emphasizes the anarchist contribution to revolutionary discourse and elucidates this theme through detailed analysis of both anarchist polemics and social practice. The changing circumstances of the Chinese revolution provide the immediate context, but throughout his writing the author views Chinese anarchism in relation to anarchism worldwide. (Source: [University of California Press](