Between Contention and Engagement: US response to China’s rise in the Obama and Trump administrations
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.36311/2237-7743.2019.v8n3.07.p544Keywords:
China's Rise, Contention, Engagement, International Liberal OrderAbstract
The article aims to assess how the United States has managed the rise of China over the last decade. This is achieved first by addressing the question in a theoretical framework and, second, by making an empirical account on the issue. Therefore, the article contrasts mainly realist and liberal accounts on contention and engagement and applies them to Obama and Trump administration's foreign policies to China. To do that, the paper analyzes the National Security Strategies of both administrations, using the method of content analysis. The research's main result is that the rise of China and the threats to the United States hegemony have been major concerns since the Obama administration. What has changed with Trump in power, though, is the means employed to address the problem, with a shift from engagement rhetoric to an open call for contention. Besides, the paper evidences how this shift is accompanied by a change in the conditions for China’s rise.
Recebido em: fevereiro/2019.
Aprovado em: setembro/2019.
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References
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Waltz, Kenneth. Structural Realism after the Cold War. International Security, v. 25, n.1, 2000, p. 5-41.
Waltz, Kenneth. Theory of International Politics. Addison –Wesley Publishing Company, 1979.
Yue, Jianyong. Peaceful rise of China: Myth or reality?. International Politics, v. 45, n. 4, p. 439-456, 2008.
Buzan, Barry. China in international society: Is ‘peaceful rise’ possible?. The Chinese Journal of International Politics, v. 3, n. 1, p. 5-36, 2010.
Carpenter, Ted Galen. (1991), “The new world disorder”. Foreign Policy, vol. 84, pp. 24- 39.
Friedberg, Aaron L. The future of US-China relations: Is conflict inevitable?. International security, v. 30, n. 2, p. 7-45, 2005.
Fukuyama, Francis. The end of history and the last man. Simon and Schuster, 2006.
Gramsci, Antonio et al. Selections from the prison notebooks. London: Lawrence and Wishart, 1971.
Griffiths, Ryan. 2018. The Waltzian ordering principle and international change: A two-dimensional model. European Journal of International Relations. Volume: 24 issue: 1, page(s): 130-152 Article first published online: March 28, 2017; Issue published: March 1, 2018. https://doi.org/10.1177/1354066117700478
Haass, Richard N. Liberal World Order, R.I.P. 2018. Available at: <https://www.cfr.org/article/liberal-world-order-rip>. Access on: 10 November 2018.
Huntington, Samuel P. The clash of civilizations?. Foreign affairs, p. 22-49, 1993.
Ikenberry, G. John. (1996), “The Myth of Post-Cold War Chaos”. Foreign Affairs, vol. 75, No. 3, pp. 79-91
Ikenberry, G. John. Liberal Leviathan: The origins, crisis, and transformation of the American world order. Princeton University Press, 2011.
Jones, Bruce. The era of U.S.-China cooperation is drawing to a close—What comes next?. 2019. Available at: < https://www.brookings.edu/blog/order-from-chaos/2019/01/07/the-era-of-u-s-china-cooperation-is-drawing-to-a-close-what-comes-next/?utm_campaign=Brookings%20Brief&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=68845223>. Access on: 28 February 2019.
Kirshner, Jonathan. 2012.The tragedy of offensive realism: Classical realism and the rise of China. European Journal of International Relations. Volume: 18 issue: 1, page(s): 53-75. Article first published online: August 17, 2010; Issue published: March 1, 2012. https://doi.org/10.1177/1354066110373949
Krauthammer, Charles. The unipolar moment. Foreign affairs, v. 70, n. 1, p. 23-33, 1990.
Layne, Christopher. This Time It’s Real: The End of Unipolarity and the Pax Americana. International Studies Quarterly, [s.l.], v. 56, n. 1, p.203-213, 4 Jan. 2012. Oxford University Press (OUP). http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2478.2011.00704.x.
Mearsheimer, John J. Can China Rise Peacefully? 2014. Available at: <http://www.eastlaw.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Can-China-Rise-Peacefully_-_-The-National-Interest.pdf>. Access on: 16 June 2018.
Mearsheimer, John. The tragedy of great power politics. New York: WWW & Norton Company, 2001.
Nye, Joseph S. (1992), “What new world order?”. Foreign Affairs, vol.71, No. 2, pp. 83-96.
Paul, T. V. The Accommodation of Rising Powers in World Politics. In: Paul, T. V. (Ed.). Accommodating Rising Powers: Past, Present, and Future. Cambridge University Press, 2016. p. 3-23.
Snyder, Jack L. Power and progress: international politics in transition. Routledge, 2012.
Snyder, Jack. Myths of Empire: Domestic politics and international ambition. Cornell University Press, 1991.
The White House. 2010. National Security Strategy. Washington: White House Office. Available at: < http://nssarchive.us/NSSR/2010.pdf>. Access on: 01 October 2018.
The White House. 2015. National Security Strategy. Washington: White House Office. Available at: < http://nssarchive.us/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/2015.pdf >. Access on 01 October 2018.
The White House. 2017. National Security Strategy. Washington: White House Office. Available at: < https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/NSS-Final-12-18-2017-0905.pdf>. Access on: 01 October 2018.
Waltz, Kenneth; Fearon, James. A Conversation with Kenneth Waltz. Annual Review Of Political Science, [s.l.], v. 15, n. 1, p.1-12, 15 Jun. 2012. Annual Reviews. http://dx.doi.org/10.1146/annurev-polisci-020511-174136.
Waltz, Kenneth. Reflections on Theory of International Politics. A Response to My Critics. In: Waltz, Kenneth. Realism and International Politics, New York and London: Routledge, pp. 37-55, 2008.
Waltz, Kenneth. Structural Realism after the Cold War. International Security, v. 25, n.1, 2000, p. 5-41.
Waltz, Kenneth. Theory of International Politics. Addison –Wesley Publishing Company, 1979.
Yue, Jianyong. Peaceful rise of China: Myth or reality?. International Politics, v. 45, n. 4, p. 439-456, 2008.
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Published
2020-01-01
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Between Contention and Engagement: US response to China’s rise in the Obama and Trump administrations. Brazilian Journal of International Relations, Marília, SP, v. 8, n. 3, p. 544–561, 2020. DOI: 10.36311/2237-7743.2019.v8n3.07.p544. Disponível em: https://revistas.marilia.unesp.br/index.php/bjir/article/view/8751.. Acesso em: 30 jun. 2024.
