Books.org participates in affiliate programs including Bookshop.org and the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. We may earn a commission from qualifying purchases made through links on this page, at no additional cost to you.
Overview
China's growing economy and military power may allow it to challenge US influence in East and Southeast Asia. Wayne Bert examines the likelihood of this and the impact it would have on Southeast Asian security. The approach taken by both the US and China will affect the outcome of this struggle and both the Southeast Asian commitment to economic growth and the development of regional institutions will encourage peaceful evolution and a power transition that avoids major conflict.
Synopsis
As China grows in political and economic power, it is likely to pose a challenge to the U.S. dominance in Southeast (and East) Asia, argues Bert (former policy analyst for the U.S. Defense Department). Focusing on what this means for Sino-U.S. relations both at regional and global levels, he suggests that China's dominance of the region is perhaps inevitable, and the U.S. challenge is to shape that dominance in order to avoid large-scale violence and to protect economic interests. The primary obstacles to such goals, in Bert's largely realist formulation, are U.S. arrogance and unilateralism and Chinese tendencies to use foreign policy to distract from domestic issues. Annotation ©2003 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR