Looking for balance : China, the United States, and power balancing in East Asia / Steve Chan.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Chan, Steve.

Series:

Studies in Asian security.

Studies in Asian security

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Balance of power.

East Asia--Foreign relations--China.

East Asia.

China--Foreign relations--East Asia.

China.

East Asia--Foreign relations--United States.

United States--Foreign relations--East Asia.

United States.

China--Foreign relations--United States.

United States--Foreign relations--China.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (298 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Stanford, California : Stanford University Press, 2012.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Debate surrounding "China's rise," and the prospects of its possible challenge to America's preeminence, has focused on two questions: whether the United States should "contain" or "engage" China; and whether the rise of Chinese power has inclined other East Asian states to "balance" against Beijing by alignment with the United States or ramping up their military expenditures. By drawing on alternative theoretic approaches—most especially "balance-of-threat" theory, political economic theory, and theories of regime survival and economic interdependence, Steve Chan is able to create an explanation of regional developments that differs widely from the traditional "strategic vision" of national interest. He concludes that China's primary aim is not to match U.S. military might or the foreign policy influence that flows from that power, and that its neighbors are not balancing against its rising power because, in today's guns-versus-butter fiscal reality, balancing policies would entail forfeiting possible gains that can accrue from cooperation, economic growth, and the application of GDP to nonmilitary ends. Instead, most East Asian countries have collectively pivoted to a strategy of elite legitimacy and regime survival based on economic performance.

Contents:

Balance of power, power balance, and balancing

Looking for balancing : the non-occurrence of the expected

The political economy of defense and regime strategy

Balance-of-power expectations versus credible commitment

Growth, trust, and historical comparisons

Preferences, intentions, and multilateralism.

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780804778473

0804778477

OCLC:

768083133