Enduring Rivalries in the Asia-Pacific
Cambridge University Press, 8/22/2013
EAN 9781107041431, ISBN10: 1107041430
Hardcover, 246 pages, 22.9 x 14.7 x 1.3 cm
Language: English
Enduring rivalries recurrently ensnare states in militarized disputes and wars. Are they poised to intensify in the Asia-Pacific, a region characterized by regime and cultural differences, territorial contests, and competing nationalist and regime claims? It is often argued that these conditions and recent power shifts are likely to lead to conflict escalation and contagion, especially in Sino-American relations. Steve Chan's book challenges this common view and argues instead that Asia-Pacific rivalries are likely to be held in abeyance. He suggests that the majority of leaders in the region wish to base their political legitimacy on their economic performance rather than popular mobilization against foreign enemies. Economic interdependence and political multilateralism have restrained and in some cases reversed rivalries. Although Asia-Pacific states will continue to quarrel, Chan argues that their relations are more stable today than at any other time since 1945.
1. What about enduring rivalries?
2. Protracted conflicts between asymmetric dyads
3. Interstate acrimony in the Asia-Pacific
4. Polarity, polarization and power shifts
5. Incentives for conflict
fuses and firebreaks
6. Economics trumps politics
7. Adding agency to structure
8. Wither Asia-Pacific rivalries?
Advance praise: 'An innovative study about the dynamics of enduring rivalries in the Asia-Pacific. By integrating rich knowledge of the region and rigorous international relations theorizing, Enduring Rivalries in the Asia-Pacific convincingly refutes the conventional wisdom about interstate rivalries and militarized conflicts in the Asia-Pacific. It explains why traditional ingredients for wars, such as territorial disputes, military alliance and arms build-up, may not increase the overall odds of large multilateral wars in the region. Chan's book will be very appealing to both IR theorists and experts in Asian studies.' Richard W. Hu, University of Hong Kong
Advance praise: 'Steve Chan makes a controversial, but convincing, argument about an abatement trend of rivalries in the Asia-Pacific. This is a rare research exemplar, which creatively integrates rigorous conceptual and theoretical critiques in international relations and rich and comparative local knowledge in geographical area studies. It should be read by both IR scholars and policy analysts who intend to better understand the future of the Asia-Pacific.' Kai He, Utah State University