1st Edition

China, the US and the Power-Transition Theory A Critique

By Steve Chan Copyright 2008
216 Pages
by Routledge

210 Pages
by Routledge

216 Pages
by Routledge

China’s recent growth has called attention to the power-transition theory, which contends that the danger of a major war is the greatest when a rising dissatisfied challenger threatens to overtake a declining satisfied hegemon. Steve Chan questions this prevailing view by analyzing the extent of ongoing power shifts among the leading powers, exploring the portents for their future growth, and... Read more
1. Introduction: The Basic Arguments  2. Power Scores and the Identity of Central Contenders  3. Revisionist Impulse and the Incumbent’s Strategic Selection  4. Imperial Overstretch and Loss Aversion as Sources of War  5. Preventive War and Alternative Responses to Decline  6. Appeasement and the Distribution of Benefits  7. Conundra of Containment and Engagement  8. Managing the Hegemon: In Lieu of Frontal Confrontation  9. Extended Deterrence and the Logic of Selection  10. Conclusion: Theoretical and Policy Implications

Biography

Steve Chan is currently the department chair and professor of political science at the University of Colorado, Boulder.

'In this wide ranging, well researched and clearly written book, University of Colorado Political Scientist Steve Chan takes critical aim at what he sees as flawed elements in the prevailing academic and policy discourse about this topic... The message of the book is important for a wide audience of practitioners, specialists and students.' - Robert Sutter, East Asia: An International Quarterly, Vol. 24, 2007

 

'Steven Chan is to be commended for producing one of the most extensive treatments of power transition theory as it applies to China and to Asian Security politics' - William Tow, The Australian National University, The China Journal, No. 60

'Chan has written a carefully circumspect book about a global issue of the utmost importance. This book is like a crash course in both international relations theory and Sino-American security relations. It is highly recommended to anybody who is interested in either China or peace' - China Perspectives, January 2009