1st Edition
Great Power Strategies - The United States, China and Japan
This book provides a comparative study of the strategies of great powers in the Asia-Pacific, namely, the United States, China and Japan, known as the Pacific Three. It examines the evolution of each power’s strategic thinking and analyzes the three powers’ respective foreign policies and internal debates in the policymaking process. It analyzes the three countries’ conflict and cooperation from past to the present. It stresses the importance of the interactions between internal and external factors in the policymaking process, and emphasizes the great significance of these interactions for international relations theory. For example, it highlights the role of strategic advisers in think tanks and government agencies in the United States, Japan's informal and balanced policymaking process, and the impact of traditional culture in China, especially Confucianism, and the part played by Chinese think tanks.
1. Why Do We Study the Pacific Three? 2. The United States: Global Leadership and Strategy "Troika" 3. China: Modernization, Stability, and Channels for Policy-input 4. Japan: "Tilted Middle Way" and "Informal Mechanism" 5. Changing Dynamics of Power Politics in Asia Pacific 6. U.S.-China-Japan Triangle: Friend or Enemy?
Biography
Quansheng Zhao is a Professor of International Relations and Chair of the Asian Studies Research Council at the American University, Washington, DC, USA.
"Professor Zhao’s new book fills a vacuum in analyzing the strategic thinking and foreign policies of the “Pacific Three”—the United States, China, and Japan, which are also the three largest global economies. It is a book about how history and political culture influence each country’s strategic deliberation and how foreign policies are made and implemented in these countries. The book helps readers understand why history, domestic politics, and leadership are making the relationships between and among these three powers so dynamic and complex, and oftentimes so difficult. This panoramic survey of the three great powers’ strategic culture and policy development provides a unique platform for comparing and contrasting their foreign policies. It is the first of its kind in thoroughly examining foreign policy strategies of each of the three Pacific powers and discussing their interactions and global impacts. At a time when the Asia-Pacific political economy is undergoing some fundamental transformations, this book is extremely timely and important. Professor Zhao is well-versed and highly qualified to write this book. The book is theoretically informed and empirically rich. It is clearly presented, which makes it an easy reading for students of international relations, foreign policy, and comparative politics."
Zhiqun Zhu, The China Review
"[T]here is no doubt that Zhao’s Great Power Strategies will be an extremely useful source for students and all those who have just approached the study of East Asian international relations. Scholars will also find a number of interesting anecdotes and case studies in there."
Andrea Ghiselli, The China Quarterly
