Rivalries in Asia

This book is a product of an increasing interest in and attention to Asia by the west, in the broader context of the re-emergence of Asia in the new millennium, after centuries of western colonial domination and exploitation. The rise of China as an economic and military power and the increasing importance of south-east, south and central Asia for the world economy have called for enhanced western attention to the Asian continent.

The book presents seven case studies of rivalries in Asia, namely, China-Taiwan, United States (US)-China, Indo-Pakistan, Sino-Indian, Sino-Russian, North-South Korea and China-Vietnam. The authors’ approach to their work is what they describe as “two-level games”, i e, “how do internal and external politics interact...in bringing about outcomes in Asian rivalries”. However, there is hardly anything novel about this approach except the change in nomenclature. Linkages between domestic and foreign policies have always been considered important and studied since the advent of modern international relations.