Ontological Security Dilemma: a Practical Model of Relational Deterrence
Journal
Journal of Chinese Political Science
Journal Volume
29
Journal Issue
2
Start Page
283
End Page
306
ISSN
1080-6954
1874-6357
Date Issued
2023-05-09
Author(s)
Jason Luo
Abstract
This paper complicates the classic security dilemma by considering the notions of ontological security and relational deterrence. It studies how the ontological security dilemma has emerged between the US, China, and Taiwan from the relational perspective and how these spiral chains will further develop in the future. The paper incurs the literature on relational analysis to expound on how different ontological security concerns allude to relational deterrence between the three actors. Taiwan’s separatism is more of a threat to China’s relational self than to physical security because the separatist does not belong to any already agreed relationship. A geometric model and a few simulations yield three unconventional findings. 1) The less advantaged the US military is over China, the less likely armed unification will occur. 2) The US anti-Chinese tendency is irrelevant in determining the probability of armed unification. 3) What may escalate the spiral are China’s anti-Taiwan independence and Taiwan’s anti-unification. Case sensitivity indicates the ontological sensibilities of a security dilemma. © Journal of Chinese Political Science/Association of Chinese Political Studies 2023.
Subjects
China-Taiwan relations
Ontological security
Relational deterrence
Revisionism
Security dilemma
US-China rivalry
SDGs
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Type
journal article