Why Is the US''s Unipolar System Still Left Unbalanced? - Case Study On China''s World Order Confirming Rise to Power
Date Issued
2009
Date
2009
Author(s)
Schmidt, Christian
Abstract
After the end of the Cold War, the US stood alone at the pinnacle of world power, resting on four historical legacies: military supremacy, globalization of its economic institutions and ideals, a global network of alliances, and a status quo beneficial to US interests.ccording to Neorealism and the Balance of Power theory, the supremacy of US power gives rise to systemic incentives for other powers to balance against it.ccording to these two theories, China is the state that is most likely to balance the US due to its rising military power, growing political aspirations and increasing energy needs, all of which are results of China''s economic rise over the last three decades.et, as traditional theories focus on systemic and regional variables like power, threat and regional social construction to explain balancing, they fail to appreciate the effects that the restraints of national interests place on balancing. As a result, they fall short in providing a satisfactory explanation as to why China is faced with only weak incentives to balance the US, even in light of potential conflicts over military and trade related issues.his thesis employs a hypothesis-generating approach, assuming that balancing is related to national interests and different levels of state action. According to the hypothesis, several cases of potential conflict in Sino-US relations are examined, focusing on those cases which would give China the most reason to balance the US.wo conclusions can be drawn: first, for the time being, China is mostly concerned with areas of national interest, including the protection of her sovereignty, territorial unity, survival of the elite, economic growth and regional integration; second, a fourth variable, the interest variable, can be added to the set of variables whichexplain balancing.his thesis presents two noteworthy findings: first, balancing is most likely to occur when all four variables play a significant role; second, that as long as China''s basic interests are not violated and as long as the US does not pose any other direct military threat to the survival of China''s state system, its elite or to China as a nation, China will not balance the US, regardless of the size and strength of the US military or the social construction between the two countries.
Subjects
US unipolarity
non-balancing
national interest
Balance of Power Theory
Type
thesis
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