Engaging or Containing China?

The re-emergence of China as a truly great power haslong been a dominating issue among scholars andpractitioners in the foreign policy discourse in theUnited States. With the potential of becoming a peercompetitor to the U.S., the question is whetherChina's rise will be a source for global stability ora springboard leading to renewed great powerconflict. The corresponding question - regardless ofthe trajectory China's rise takes - is what anappropriate strategy should look like. In this book,Matthis Kaiser analyses the strategies that havedriven U.S. policy towards China since the end of theCold War. Uncovering the theoretical concepts thatinform the contending approaches of engagement vs.containment, he shows how these ideas have influencedthe thinking about, and policies toward China of theU.S. presidencies of George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton,and George W. Bush. By focussing on both the abstractlevel of strategy and on practical foreign policyimplementation, Kaiser demonstrates which strategieshave proven successful and how U.S. China policy hasactually played out. The book is aimed at researchersinterested in international politics and U.S.-Chinarelations.

Autorentext

Matthis Kaiser has studied Political Science, American Studies, and Modern History at the University of Bonn and International Relations at the University of Birmingham (UK). He currently works at the International Policy Analysis Unit of the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung.

Klappentext
The re-emergence of China as a truly great power has long been a dominating issue among scholars and practitioners in the foreign policy discourse in the United States. With the potential of becoming a peer competitor to the U.S., the question is whether China's rise will be a source for global stability or a springboard leading to renewed great power conflict. The corresponding question - regardless of the trajectory China's rise takes - is what an appropriate strategy should look like. In this book, Matthis Kaiser analyses the strategies that have driven U.S. policy towards China since the end of the Cold War. Uncovering the theoretical concepts that inform the contending approaches of engagement vs. containment, he shows how these ideas have influenced the thinking about, and policies toward China of the U.S. presidencies of George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush. By focussing on both the abstract level of strategy and on practical foreign policy implementation, Kaiser demonstrates which strategies have proven successful and how U.S. China policy has actually played out. The book is aimed at researchers interested in international politics and U.S.-China relations.