The Politics of Pageantry

The awarding of the 2008 Olympic Games to Beijing marked a milestone in the rise of the East Asian power. But it also handed China's rulers a platform they could use to address the rest of the globe -- and their own people. In the years since, as Beijing has wielded its growing economic and political heft to cement its place in the world, managing relations with China has become perhaps the greatest long-term challenge for U.S. policymakers. A study of the opening ceremonies of the Beijing Games offers a perfect prism through which to consider China's ascendance to the international stage....