Joel Wuthnow is a research analyst at CNA China Studies in Alexandria, Virginia, USA.

This book is one of the first to address China's role and influence in the Security Council. It develops a picture of a state struggling to find a way between the need to protect its stakes in a number of 'rogue regimes', on one hand, and its image as a responsible rising power on the world stage, on the other. Negotiating this careful balancing act has mixed implications, and means that whilst China can be a useful ally in collective security, it also faces serious constraints. Providing a window not only into China's behaviour, but into the complex world of decision-making at the UNSC in general, the book covers a number of important cases, including North Korea, Iran, Darfur, Burma, Zimbabwe, Libya and Syria.

Introduction 1. China's First Forty Years in the UN Security Council, 1971-2011 2. Collective Security Decision-Making: An Analytical Framework 3. Pressuring Pyongyang: Debates on North Korea, 2006 4. Tangling with Tehran: The Iranian Nuclear Issue, 2010 5. Deploying to Darfur: Peacekeeping in Sudan, 2007 6. China Says "No": Political Repression in Burma, 2006 7. Conclusion