Book review: Tencent: The Political Economy of China’s Surging Internet Giant

Abstract

Regardless of these valuable assets, there are a handful of issues that the book could have further developed. On the one hand, while the book suitably discusses the geopolitics surrounding early telecommunications technologies between the US and Europe, followed by the US and Latin America, it does not emphasize the significant relationships between the US and Asia other than intermittently discussing some historical facts, which remains a blind spot. On the other hand, it misses one key conceptual and theoretical framework, which is globalization. Although it discusses the importance of global communication with early telecommunications technologies, it does not provide any meaningful explanations about the notion of globalization. As this book convinces its readers to think about the globalization process that occurred in the early 20th century, it would be great to have had Zajácz’s notion of globalization, which would have strengthened the analyses in the book. Overall, Zajácz’s book is highly recommended for a wide range of readers who are interested in information policy, communication history and political economy. The analyses and discussions are extremely compelling, and the chapters are very informative and connected. Since the book offers insights into global communication by providing empirical detail and useful historical interpretations, it is presented as a welcome contribution to a growing body of literature on telecommunications studies, communication history, globalization and political economy.944857 GMC0010.1177/1742766520944857Global Media and CommunicationBook review