A concise and informative history of how China divided in 1949 into two regimes, why they struggled to achieve the same political goal-reunification of China—and why their struggle today continues in a more complex and dangerous way. The authors detail how the changes brought about by the 2000 election not only intensified the conflict between the regimes but locked both sides into a new contest that increased the probability of war rather than peace.

A concise and informative history of how China divided in 1949 into two regimes, why they struggled to achieve the same political goal-reunification of China--and why their struggle today continues in a more complex and dangerous way. The authors detail how the changes brought about by the 2000 election not only intensified the conflict between the regimes but locked both sides into a new contest that increased the probability of war rather than peace.

In Taiwan Straits: Crisis in Asia and the Role of the U.S. Navy, historian Bruce Elleman surveys the situation that has led to the current tensions between China and Taiwan. Starting in 1949, the final phase of the civil war in China, which ended with Communist rule of the mainland and nationalist control of Taiwan, this work explores how the 100-mile wide passage of water, known as the Taiwan Strait has served as the geographic flashpoint between the two nations. Even though U.S. Navy destroyers have patrolled this body of water from 1950 to 1979, it has seen four crises—1954-55, 1958, 1962, and, after the withdrawal of the U.S. Navy, 1995-96—that threatened to push Taiwan and China to the brink of war. Notwithstanding the role of the United States in defusing cross-strait tensions for some three decades and the cold peace that has settled in since then, the Taiwan Strait continues to be a major source of anxiety for the region and the world. Taiwan Straits: Crisis in Asia and the Role of the U.S. Navy traces the evolution of this tension between the two nations, details the history of the crises between them, and brings this story forward into the present by considering continuing sources of conflict, present diplomatic efforts by the aggrieved nations, and other key interests—from the United States and Europe to other regional powers—and future possible outcomes in the ongoing struggle between China and Taiwan relations. Simply written and cogently argued, it is the ideal source for military personnel, diplomats, and scholars and student of the modern Far East.

First Published in 1999. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Relations among the United States, Taiwan, and China challenge policymakers, international relations specialists, and a concerned public to examine their assumptions about security, sovereignty, and peace. Only a Taiwan Straits conflict could plunge Americans into war with a nuclear-armed great power. In a timely and deeply informed book, Nancy Bernkopf Tucker traces the thorny relationship between the United States and Taiwan as both watch ChinaÕs power grow. Although TaiwanÐU.S. security has been intertwined since the 1950s, neither Taipei nor Washington ever fully embraced the other. Differences in priorities and perspectives repeatedly raised questions about the wisdom of the alignment. Tucker discusses the nature of U.S. commitments to Taiwan; the intricacies of policy decisions; the intentions of critical actors; the impact of TaiwanÕs democratization; the role of lobbying; and the accelerating difficulty of balancing Taiwan against China. In particular, she examines the destructive mistrust that undermines U.S. cooperation with Taiwan, stymieing efforts to resolve cross-Strait tensions. Strait Talk offers valuable historical context for understanding U.S.ÐTaiwan ties and is essential reading for anyone interested in international relations and security issues today.

When the Nationalists lost China in 1949, many of them left behind their families as they retreated to Taiwan. A half century later, through democratic elections, they lost control over Taiwan as well and began looking to a new and powerful China, where their relatives had grown rich, for a sense of identity and economic support, thus laying the groundwork for the growing integration between Taiwan and China. As exchanges across the Taiwan Strait increased, many separated families finally met after yearsof dreaming about each other in hope and in sorrow, through many eras and disast.

In this newly revised and updated seventh edition of Taiwan: Nation-State or Province? Copper examines Taiwan's geography and history, society and culture, economy, political system and foreign and security politics in the context of Taiwan's uncertain status, as either a sovereign nation or a province of the People's Republic of China. Analyzing possible future scenarios and trends that could affect Taiwan’s status, the author argues that Taiwan's very rapid and successful democratization suggests Taiwan should be independent and separate from China, while economic links between Taiwan and China indicate the opposite. New features to this brand-new edition include: The triumph of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in the 2016 elections. The impact of the Trump administration on US–Taiwan relations. The rise of popularism. The shift in cross-Strait relations with China given their increased power on the world stage. This revised and fully up-to-date textbook will be essential reading for students of Taiwan, China, US–China relations and democracy.

In brute-force struggles for survival, such as the two World Wars, disorganization and divisions within an enemy alliance are to one's own advantage. However, most international security politics involve coercive diplomacy and negotiations short of all-out war. Worse Than a Monolith demonstrates that when states are engaged in coercive diplomacy--combining threats and assurances to influence the behavior of real or potential adversaries--divisions, rivalries, and lack of coordination within the opposing camp often make it more difficult to prevent the onset of conflict, to prevent existing conflicts from escalating, and to negotiate the end to those conflicts promptly. Focusing on relations between the Communist and anti-Communist alliances in Asia during the Cold War, Thomas Christensen explores how internal divisions and lack of cohesion in the two alliances complicated and undercut coercive diplomacy by sending confusing signals about strength, resolve, and intent. In the case of the Communist camp, internal mistrust and rivalries catalyzed the movement's aggressiveness in ways that we would not have expected from a more cohesive movement under Moscow's clear control. Reviewing newly available archival material, Christensen examines the instability in relations across the Asian Cold War divide, and sheds new light on the Korean and Vietnam wars. While recognizing clear differences between the Cold War and post-Cold War environments, he investigates how efforts to adjust burden-sharing roles among the United States and its Asian security partners have complicated U.S.-China security relations since the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Adopting a critical political economy perspective this book sheds new light on the social and political struggles that shaped the political dynamics of Taiwan-China relations and cross-Strait rapprochement between 2008 and 2014. Presenting a careful analysis of primary sources and interviews, the book reconstructs the historical, political and socio-economic factors that shaped Taiwan’s path to the Sunflower Movement of 2014, reinterpreting this process as a struggle over Taiwan’s role in the global economy. It challenges received wisdoms regarding the rise and fall of the rapprochement: First, the study argues that the rapprochement was not primarily driven by political elites but by capitalist conglomerates within Taiwan, which sought a normalisation of economic relations across the Taiwan Strait. Second, it finds that Taiwan’s social movements during that period were not homogeneous but rather struggled to find a common vision that could unite the critics of the rapprochement. The insights provided not only offer a deeper understanding of Taiwan’s protest cycle between 2008 and 2014, but also serve to recontextualise the political dynamics in post-Sunflower Taiwan. As such it will appeal to students and scholars of Taiwan Studies, East Asian Politics and Social Movement Studies.

The Chinese (Taiwan) Yearbook of International Law and Affairs includes articles and international law materials relating to Asia-Pacific and the Republic of China on Taiwan.