Debating China

Debating China
Author: Nina Hachigian
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Total Pages: 274
Release: 2014-02
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0199973881

An emerging star in the field of US-China policy pairs leading scholars from both the US and China in dialogues about the most crucial elements of the relationship.

The Paradox of Power

The Paradox of Power
Author: David C. Gompert
Publisher: Government Printing Office
Total Pages: 236
Release: 2020
Genre:
ISBN: 9780160915734

The second half of the 20th century featured a strategic competition between the United States and the Soviet Union. That competition avoided World War III in part because during the 1950s, scholars like Henry Kissinger, Thomas Schelling, Herman Kahn, and Albert Wohlstetter analyzed the fundamental nature of nuclear deterrence. Decades of arms control negotiations reinforced these early notions of stability and created a mutual understanding that allowed U.S.-Soviet competition to proceed without armed conflict. The first half of the 21st century will be dominated by the relationship between the United States and China. That relationship is likely to contain elements of both cooperation and competition. Territorial disputes such as those over Taiwan and the South China Sea will be an important feature of this competition, but both are traditional disputes, and traditional solutions suggest themselves. A more difficult set of issues relates to U.S.-Chinese competition and cooperation in three domains in which real strategic harm can be inflicted in the current era: nuclear, space, and cyber. Just as a clearer understanding of the fundamental principles of nuclear deterrence maintained adequate stability during the Cold War, a clearer understanding of the characteristics of these three domains can provide the underpinnings of strategic stability between the United States and China in the decades ahead. That is what this book is about.

Conflict and Cooperation in Sino-US Relations

Conflict and Cooperation in Sino-US Relations
Author: Jean-Marc F. Blanchard
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 305
Release: 2015-02-20
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1317664272

Numerous crosswinds are buffeting the more than 40-year-old People's Republic of China--American relationship, yet only once since Nixon’s historic trip to China in 1972 has a major conflagration seemed a real possibility. Anchoring the relationship throughout multiple storms are the two countries’ broad areas of collaboration such as deep links in culture, economics, and education. However, for some observers, the conflictual aspects of the relationship seem to be gaining prominence. Conflict and Cooperation in Sino-US Relations offers a timely and current look at one of the world’s weightiest bilateral relationships. It goes beyond detailing the conflict and cooperation that have been integral facets of China--US interactions since 1972, to gauging the relationship's evolution and future trends, examining its nuances regarding diverse issues such as the Asia-Pacific leadership structure, the South China Sea, and the Korean peninsula. The book further delves into the causes of conflict and cooperation, offers diverse solutions for tempering frictions between Beijing and Washington, and considers the efficacy of some of the mechanisms (e.g., military-to-military exchanges) that China and the US currently employ to manage their relationship.The chapters suggest that extreme anxieties about China--US relations may be misplaced, but that there nonetheless are some worrisome signs even in areas like economics and the environment that are perceived as naturally cooperative. While the book does not offer any silver bullets, various contributors contend that successful management of Sino-American relations may require greater American accommodation of China’s interests. This book will be of great interest to students and scholars of Chinese politics, American politics, international relations, and Asian studies, as well as to policy-makers working in the field.

Thucydides’s Trap?

Thucydides’s Trap?
Author: Steve Chan
Publisher: University of Michigan Press
Total Pages: 268
Release: 2020-01-03
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0472131702

The Peloponnesian War (431–404 BCE) ostensibly arose because of the fear that a rising Athens would threaten Sparta’s power in the Mediterranean. The idea of Thucydides’ Trap warns that all rising powers threaten established powers. As China increases its power relative to the United States, the theory argues, the two nations are inevitably set on a collision course toward war. How enlightening is an analogy based on the ancient Greek world of 2,500 years ago for understanding contemporary international relations? How accurate is the depiction of the history of other large armed conflicts, such as the two world wars, as a challenge mounted by a rising power to displace an incumbent hegemon?Thucydides’s Trap?: Historical Interpretation, Logic of Inquiry, and the Future of Sino-American Relations offers a critique of the claims of Thucydides’s Trap and power-transition theory. It examines past instances of peaceful accommodation to uncover lessons that can ease the frictions in ongoing Sino-American relations.

China in the Mediterranean

China in the Mediterranean
Author: Emilie Tran
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Total Pages: 107
Release: 2024-07-19
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1040093280

This scholarly book provides a timely examination of China’s growing influence in the Mediterranean region. It offers a comparative and theoretical perspective underpinned by an up-to-date empirical analysis. The book uses role theory as the theoretical framework throughout, exploring the escalating tensions in the Mediterranean, where a complex triangular relationship seems to have emerged, largely due to China’s expanding presence on both the Southern and Northern shores. Beijing’s sustained engagement and increasing influence have significantly affected the perceptions of France, the region’s former colonial power, and Spain, as well as global competitors such as Russia, Turkey, Israel, and the Gulf states. From a security standpoint, China’s engagement in the Mediterranean has also raised concerns in the United States. Within this multifaceted context, the chapters in this volume scrutinize how the evolving interactions between China and the Mediterranean states elucidate the progression of Sino-Southern Mediterranean relations and Sino-Northern Mediterranean relations. Moreover, the current conflict in Gaza has heightened interest in China’s role in the Mediterranean and the broader Middle East. This volume is undoubtedly a valuable resource for academics, policymakers, and students at both undergraduate and graduate levels with an interest in strategic studies, politics, diplomacy and international relations. The chapters in this book were initially published as a special issue of Mediterranean Politics.

Avoiding the ‘Thucydides Trap’

Avoiding the ‘Thucydides Trap’
Author: Dong Wang
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 231
Release: 2020-12-29
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1351206656

As the relationship between China and the United States becomes increasingly complex and interdependent, leaders in Beijing and Washington are struggling to establish a solid common foundation on which to expand and deepen bilateral relations. In order to examine the challenges facing U.S.-China relations, the National Bureau of Asian Research (NBR) and the Institute for Global Cooperation and Understanding (iGCU) at Peking University brought together a group of leading experts from China and the United States in Beijing and Honolulu to develop a conceptual foundation for U.S.-China relations into the future, tackling the issues in innovative ways under the banner of U.S.-China Relations in Strategic Domains. The resulting chapters assess U.S.-China relations in the maritime and nuclear sectors as well as in cyberspace and space and through the lens of P2P and mil-to-mil exchanges. Scholars and students in political science and international relations are thus presented with a diagnosis and prognosis of the relations between the two superpowers.

Uncharted Strait

Uncharted Strait
Author: Richard C. Bush
Publisher: Brookings Institution Press
Total Pages: 337
Release: 2013
Genre: History
ISBN: 0815723849

"Focuses on cross-Strait relations during Ma Ying-jeou's first term, assessing the impact of stabilization on economics, politics, and security and the implications for resolution of Taiwan and China's fundamental dispute. Examines how Taiwan can strengthen itself; how China can promote a mutually acceptable outcome; and how Washington can protect its interests in South Asia"--Provided by publisher.

Rumbles of Thunder

Rumbles of Thunder
Author: Steve Chan
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Total Pages: 198
Release: 2022-12-27
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0231557434

It is widely believed that shifts in the balance of power between an established hegemon and a rising upstart can lead to war. To what extent does this proposition hold true for Sino-American relations today? Steve Chan examines a range of international relations theories and popular narratives that suggest an elevated risk of confrontation between the two powers. Probing the recent deterioration in Sino-American relations, he considers whether several factors that can raise or lower international tension apply to the current situation. Chan demonstrates that power shifts do not preordain violent outcomes—nor does their absence ensure peace. Criticizing overly mechanistic frameworks, he emphasizes that domestic politics, international political economy, and the choices of individual leaders are all crucial to understanding why wars happen. Chan demonstrates that claims of a “rising China” catching up to and even poised to overtake the United States are alarmist: American structural advantages will endure for some time to come. Contrary to prevailing narratives, China does not act like a revisionist power seeking to overturn the system, while the United States, far from defending the international order, has frequently undermined it. However, Chan cautions, Taiwan remains a flashpoint for a possible Sino-American conflict. Bringing together expertise in IR theory and keen political acumen, Rumbles of Thunder challenges conventional wisdom on the likelihood of war between the United States and China.