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Theorizing hedging explaining shifts and variations in alignment choices Cheng-Chwee Kuik

Cambridge eBooks: Frontlist 2026 Available online

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Format:
Book
Author/Creator:
Kuik, Cheng-Chwee, author.
Series:
Cambridge elements. Elements in Indo-Pacific security
Cambridge elements. Elements in Indo-Pacific security 3033-4837
Language:
English
Subjects (All):
international relations.
Nonalignment.
Neutrality.
Diplomatic relations.
International relations.
Indo-Pacific Region.
Physical Description:
1 online resource
Place of Publication:
Cambridge Cambridge University Press 2026
Summary:
"Hedging, not balancing or bandwagoning, is the modal behavior of the non-great powers under uncertainty. Despite its prevalence as a state alignment choice, hedging has remained an undertheorized subject in the study of international relations. This Element presents one of the first theoretical works on strategic hedging in world politics. Tracing the multidisciplinary roots of hedging as an instinctive human behavior, I contend that sovereign actors hedge in ways similar to commodity traders, farmers, fund managers, academic writers, politicians, and individuals in competitive organizations under conditions of high-stakes and high-uncertainties. I then develop a two-level theoretical framework to explain when, how and why states hedge, rather than balance or bandwagon. Using selected Indo-Pacific countries as empirical cases, I conclude that while structural-level conditions largely explain the shifts in alignment decisions (e.g., from non-hedging to hedging, or vice versa), domestic factors explain the variations in hedging choices"-- Cambridge Core
Contents:
A cross-disciplinary conceptualization
A two-level theory
Explaining the shifts (I) : from non-hedging to hedging
Explaining the shifts (II) : from hedging to non-hedging
Explaining the variations : heavy hedging versus light hedging
Notes:
Includes bibliographical references
Online resource; title from PDF title page (Cambridge Core, viewed June 30, 2026)
Other Format:
Print version Kuik, Cheng-Chwee Theorizing hedging
ISBN:
9781009589406
1009589407
OCLC:
1594987909
Access Restriction:
Restricted for use by site license

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