Inside Out, India and China: Local Politics Go Global

Description:

With a new preface prepared for this edition that lays out key takeaways from the transitions of 2013 and 2014 

One-third of humanity is governed by two capitals, New Delhi and Beijing. Both countries have elevated strong national leaders with the know-how to govern not from the top down, but rather from the Inside Out.

In 2014, lndia overwhelmingly elected Narendra Modi prime minister. He rose to national prominence as chief minister of Gujarat, India's fastest growing state. Likewise, in 2013, Xi Jinping became president of China, having served as top official in Zhejiang and Shanghai, two of China's most prosperous provinces. Modi's and Xi's local roots have been pivotal to each man's rise and will shape where and how they will lead their countries next.

Anticipating these trends and leadership transitions, William Antholis spent five months in 2012 traversing twenty Indian states and Chinese provinces, conducting over 300 interviews, including with Narendra Modi. Despite the fact that each man is now a national leader, effective local government is required to address vexing problems for both China and lndia such as air and water pollution, housing shortages, migrant workers, and endemic corruption. So do global challenges, such as attracting foreign investment, exporting goods and services, and fighting climate change.

Antholis's detailed narratives show what both Modi and Xi learned firsthand: that local successes-and failures-will determine the future of the world's two largest nations.

Antholis also includes engaging, personal accounts of working and traveling in both countries, where he lived with his wife and daughters (ages 10 and 8).

About the Author:

William Antholis is managing director of the Brookings Institution, where he is also a senior fellow in Governance Studies. He is the coauthor (with Strobe Talbott) of Fast Forward: Ethics and Politics in the Age of Global Warming. From 1995 to 1999 he served in both the White House and U.S. Department of State.