"Rebellious Follower: China’s Search for Science, Technology, and Innovation" - by CWP alum Andrew B Kennedy

May 10, 2026
Rebellious Follower: China’s Search for Science, Technology, and Innovation

How does China pursue science, technology, and innovation (STI)? For decades, Chinese leaders have sought to transform China into a world technology power, and toward this end, they have adopted an amazing array of approaches to STI policy. To illuminate China’s approach, this book focuses on the basic belief systems—or “policy paradigms”—that have driven Chinese policymaking in this domain since 1949. It begins by highlighting two globally influential STI paradigms from the past century, building on and extending recent research in this domain. The book then explores how Chinese leaders have adapted and resisted these paradigms and, in this way, made their country a rebellious follower of foreign ideas. The theoretical framework offers new insights into critical episodes in modern Chinese history, from the formation of China’s scientific establishment in the 1950s to the rise of “innovation-driven development” in the twenty-first century. Combining cutting-edge theoretical analysis with sweeping historical scope, the book offers a unique perspective on China’s rise as a technology power.

Kennedy, Andrew B, Rebellious Follower: China’s Search for Science, Technology, and Innovation (New York, NY, 2026; online edn, Oxford Academic, 28 Apr. 2026), https://doi.org/10.1093/9780197824689.001.0001, accessed 5 May 2026.

Andrew Kennedy specializes in international and comparative politics, with particular interest in China, India, and the United States.  His recent work has focused primarily on the politics and policymaking surrounding science, technology, and innovation. This work has focused on several distinct themes, including China’s rise as a technology power, the globalization of innovation, and U.S.-China high-tech rivalry.  He has also published widely on the foreign policies of China and India in the Cold War and post-Cold War periods.

Andrew Kennedy is the author of three books, including:

  • Rebellious Follower: China's Search for Science, Technology, and Innovation (Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2026).
  • The Conflicted Superpower: America’s Collaboration with China and India in Global Innovation (New York: Columbia University Press, 2018). Published as a Nancy Bernkopf Tucker and Warren I. Cohen Book on American–East Asian Relations. Reviewed in Perspectives on Politics, Public Administration Review, Political Science Quarterly, and Kirkus Reviews. Published in Chinese by CITIC Press Group in 2021. Received the Kirkus Star Award in 2018.

  • The International Ambitions of Mao and Nehru: National Efficacy Beliefs and the Making of Foreign Policy (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2012). Reviewed in Perspectives on Politics, The China Quarterly, Journal of Cold War Studies, The China Journal, Asian Security, Pacific Affairs, Contemporary South Asia, Strategic Analysis, China Report, The Book Review, Canadian Foreign Policy, and The Hindu.

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Andrew B Kennedy