Portugal, China, and the Macau Negotiations, 1986–1999

Carmen Amado Mendes is professor of international relations at the School of Economics, University of Coimbra.

Setting Portugal's approach to the Macau question in the context of broader domestic and international political dilemmas, Mendes provides a nuanced picture of the institutional inertias, party rivalries, and post-colonial exhaustion that shaped the entire negotiation process. She shows, paradoxically, that although these factors weakened Portugal's position relative to China, this weakness sometimes put Portugal in the driver's seat at the negotiating table. -- Cathryn Clayton, author of Sovereignty at the Edge: Macau and the Question of Chineseness Mendes gives us a clear and balanced historical account of the Macau negotiations. We are told that 'history is an argument without end,' but this is the first book written not by an actor in the events but by an independent academic observer. This important book will help considerably in our understanding of China-Portugal relations. -- Jose Duarte de Jesus, Portuguese ambassador to China,1993-1997 Portugal, China and the Macau Negotiations, 1986-1999 is not only a very valuable insight into the negotiations on the future of Macau but also a useful guide to understanding the larger relationship between Portugal and China. -- Antonio Costa Lobo, Portuguese Ambassador to China, 1982-1985