The Taiwan tinderbox : the island-nation at the center of the new Cold War / J. Michael Cole.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Cole, J. Michael, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Taiwan--Relations--China.

Taiwan.

Russian Invasion of Ukraine, 2022--Influence.

Russian Invasion of Ukraine, 2022.

Physical Description:

xvii, 244 pages ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

Cambridge : Polity press, 2025.

Summary:

Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 shocked the world and overturned assumptions that large-scale conventional war was inconceivable in the twenty-first century. On the other side of the planet, democratic Taiwan faces the rising threat of a military takeover by China -- a conflict whose impact on the international community would be catastrophic. Renowned Taiwan expert and former intelligence officer J. Michael Cole explains how this Pacific nation has become a tinderbox that could ignite a full-scale global conflict. Drawing on unparalleled access to Taiwanese government sources and two decades of on-the-ground observation, he explores the root causes of the conflict between Taiwan and China -- from the identity politics that make "peaceful unification" inconceivable, to the rise of Xi Jinping, the most powerful and authoritarian Chinese leader since Mao Zedong. With in-depth analysis of how the war in Europe is influencing preparations by Beijing, Taipei, and Washington for a potential cross-Strait confrontation, The Taiwan Tinderbox is an impassioned plea for the defense of Taiwan as a priority for the international community and the future of democracy" -- Jacket flap.

Contents:

Introduction

The unbridgeable divide

Xi's unbridled ambitions

Attacking Taiwan's democracy

The impact of Ukraine

The catastrophe : war in the Taiwan Strait

Avoiding the nightmare

Taiwan and the battle for democracy's future.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 209-235) and index.

ISBN:

9781509568055

1509568050

OCLC:

1513376346