Pt. I. Asymmetric international relationships. ch. 1. Recognition, deference, and respect : generalizing the lessons of an asymmetric Asian order. ch. 2. The United States, human rights, and moral autonomy in the post-Cold War world. ch. 3. Dissecting soft power : attention, attraction, persuasion. ch. 4. The dilemma of regional powers. ch. 5. Democratic defeatism : reconsidering the logic of asymmetric wars -- pt. II. Underpinnings of China's foreign policy. ch. 6. China between region and world. ch. 7. Traditional China and the globalization of international relations thinking. ch. 8. Sustainable international leadership : lessons from the Sino-Vietnamese relationship, 968-1885. ch. 9. China as a normative foreign policy actor. ch. 10. Asymmetry theory and China's concept of multipolarity -- pt. III. China and the United States. ch. 11. The brightest house : civilization and asymmetry. ch. 12. The reality and limits of American power. ch. 13. How size matters : the United States, China, and asymmetry. ch. 14. United States and China's rise : parity and the accommodation of civilizations -- pt. IV. China and Asia. ch. 15. Asymmetric triangles and the Washington-Beijing-Taipei relationship. ch. 16. The United States and Sino-Vietnamese relations. ch. 17. Asymmetry and systemic misperception : China, Vietnam, and Cambodia during the 1970s. ch. 18. China and Southeast Asia : asymmetry, leadership, and normalcy. ch. 19. Vietnam and China in an era of economic uncertainty. ch. 20. Korea and Vietnam : similarities and differences in their relationships to China

China Among Unequals presents asymmetry theory, a new paradigm for the study of international relations, derived from China's relationships with its neighbors and the world. The first collection of its kind, it brings together key writings on the theory and its applications to China's basic foreign policy, particularly towards the United States and the rest of Asia.Starting with an exploration of the general theory of asymmetry, with particular attention given to such topics as human rights, soft power, regionalism, and asymmetric wars, the book then moves on to the fundamentals of China's external relations, looking at the complexities created by its scale and broad range of neighbors. Traditional imperial relationships are analyzed, as well as China's more recent emphasis on multipolarity. The third section deals with US-China ties -China's most important relationship, and the only one in which it is in the more vulnerable position. The final section treats in detail the relationships between China and its Asian neighbors, including Southeast Asia and the complicated multilateral situations of Korea and Taiwan.

The value of asymmetry theory is demonstrated in the dynamics of the Sino-Vietnamese relationship.

America's longest wars have been 'small wars'. This book explains how power differences shape - but don't determine - international relationships.

A Companion to Chinese History presents a collection of essays offering a comprehensive overview of the latest intellectual developments in the study of China’s history from the ancient past up until the present day. Covers the major trends in the study of Chinese history from antiquity to the present day Considers the latest scholarship of historians working in China and around the world Explores a variety of long-range questions and themes which serves to bridge the conventional divide between China’s traditional and modern eras Addresses China’s connections with other nations and regions and enables non-specialists to make comparisons with their own fields Features discussion of traditional topics and chronological approaches as well as newer themes such as Chinese history in relation to sexuality, national identity, and the environment

Though a US-China conflict is far from inevitable, major tensions are building in the Asia-Pacific region. These strains are the result of historical enmity, cultural divergence, and deep ideological estrangement, not to mention apprehensions fueled by geopolitical competition and the closely related “security dilemma.” Despite worrying signs of intensifying rivalry, few observers have provided concrete paradigms to lead this troubled relationship away from disaster. This book is dramatically different in that Lyle J. Goldstein’s focus is on laying bare both US and Chinese perceptions of where their interests clash and proposing new paths to ease bilateral tensions through compromise. Each chapter contains a “cooperation spiral” —the opposite of an escalation spiral—to illustrate these policy proposals. Goldstein makes one hundred policy proposals over the course of this book to inaugurate a genuine debate regarding cooperative policy solutions to the most vexing problems in US-China relations. Goldstein not only parses findings from American scholarship but also breaks new ground by analyzing hundreds of Chinese-language sources, including military publications, never before evaluated by Western experts. Meeting China Halfway, new in paperback, remains a refreshing and unique contribution to the study of the world’s most important bilateral relationship.

China is not only a great power but often an opaque one. What does its regional diplomacy tell us about the country’s geopolitical position and ambitions, and what patterns does it reveal? Building from international relations theories focused on how external threats, domestic politics, and ideology influence foreign policy, Yuxing Huang puts forward a nuanced argument. He suggests that in an environment of numerous regional competitors and alignments, China has developed a form of asymmetric statecraft toward its many weaker neighbours. In the South China Sea, it maintains a uniform strategy toward Vietnam, the Philippines, and Malaysia. Whereas in South Asia, it practises selective strategies to maintain the status quo with India and to enhance Pakistan’s position. Drawing on extensive archival sources, this perceptive interpretation of the different narratives and paradigms that constitute China’s foreign policy alerts us to the potential future of its diplomatic endeavours in a dramatically changing international environment.

This book provides a theoretical and empirical analysis of a key concept in East Asian security debates, sovereign autonomy, and how it reproduces hierarchy in the regional order. Park argues that contemporary strategic debates in East Asia are based on shared contextual knowledge - that of international hierarchy - reconstructed in the late-nineteenth century. The mechanism that reproduces this lens of hierarchy is domestic legitimacy politics in which embattled political leaders contest the meaning of sovereign autonomy. Park argues that the idea of status seeking has remained embedded in the concept of sovereign autonomy and endures through distinct and alternative security frames that continue to inform contemporary strategic debates in East Asia. This book makes a significant contribution to debates in international relations theory and security studies about autonomy and status, as well as to the now extensive literature on the nature of East Asian regional order.

This book examines China’s relations with its weak peripheral states through the theoretical lens of structural power and structural violence. China’s foreign policy concepts toward its weak neighbouring states, such as the ‘One Belt, One Road’ strategy, are premised on the assumption that economic exchange and a commitment to common development are the most effective means of ensuring stability on its borders. This book, however, argues that China’s overreliance on economic exchange as the basis for its bilateral relations contains inherently self-defeating qualities that have contributed and can further contribute to instability and insecurity within China’s periphery. Unequal economic exchange between China and its weak neighbours results in Chinese influence over the state’s domestic institutions, what this book refers to as ‘structural power’. Chinese structural power, in turn, can undermine the state’s development, contribute to social unrest, and exacerbate existing state/society tensions—what this book refers to as ‘structural violence’. For China, such outcomes lead to instability within its peripheral environment and raise its vulnerability to security threats stemming from nationalism, separatism, terrorism, transnational organised crime, and drug trafficking, among others. This book explores the causality between China’s economically-reliant foreign policy and insecurity in its weak peripheral states and considers the implications for China’s security environment and foreign policy. This book will be of much interest to students of Chinese politics, Asian security studies, international political economy and IR in general.

At the end of the Cold War, commentators were pondering how far Western ideas would spread; today, the debate seems to be how far Chinese ideas will reach. This volume examines Chinese international relations thought and practices, identifying the extent to which China's rise has provoked fresh geo-strategic and intellectual shifts within Asia.