Capsule Reviews

Under the leadership of President Félix Houphouët-Boigny, who managed Côte d’Ivoire’s transition to independence, the country was perceived as one of West Africa’s few success stories, at least until the late 1980s. Domestic political stability and close relations with France aided steady growth in the economy, which was based on agricultural exports, most notably cocoa. By the time Houphouët-Boigny died, in 1993, the Ivoirian miracle had already been seriously tarnished after a collapse in cocoa prices. But few predicted the country’s descent into ethnic polarization and civil conflict.

China scholars might think they have read enough about Deng Xiaoping. After all, at least three biographies of Deng were available prior to the release of this massive new book. But Vogel, one of the world’s preeminent Asia scholars, has produced the most comprehensive and authoritative account of Deng’s career as a revolutionary, party leader, and architect of China’s reform. Meticulously researched and highly readable, the book is not a typical biography. It does not dwell much on Deng’s personal life.

Under increasing pressure in a liberalizing economy and abetted by local governments hungry for growth, Chinese enterprises have shifted an estimated 39 percent of China’s urban work force from permanent employment to the “informal” sector, where workers get lower pay, forgo job security and benefits, and experience frequent violations of labor standards. The central government, fearing political instability, responded recently with an updated labor-contract law and pension reforms.

Space programs are surprisingly common across Asia, although not all of them are technologically advanced. China seeks to ban weapons in outer space but meanwhile has developed antisatellite and manned space flight capabilities. Japan has long had the region’s most sophisticated space program for peaceful purposes, but in 2008, the Japanese parliament lifted a ban on the use of space for defense. India’s space program has also adopted a more militaristic orientation, building satellites for reconnaissance, intelligence, and navigation, with potential applications for missile defense.