The extent to which China presents a threat to the US and whether or not China can ‘rise peacefully’ is a topic of debate within realism and security studies. John Mearsheimer, for example, has argued forcefully that if China continues on its current trajectory, then conflict with the US is inevitable.
If you have chosen realism for your summative assessment, you should write a 2,500-word essay on either of the following questions.
Assess this statement: ‘If you think like a realist…. you’ll understand why China’s rise is a critical event and likely to be a source of conflict with the United States (and others).’ (Walt, Stephen, “The World Wants you to Think Like a Realist,” Foreign Policy, May 30, 2018(opens in a new tab)).
or
To what extent is China a ‘security threat’?
References
Carlson, Benjamin, “Why China Loves Trump(opens in a new tab) ,” The Atlantic, March 2018. https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2018/03/trump-china/550886/
Etzioni, Amitai, “Mearsheimer’s War With China(opens in a new tab),” The Diplomat, March 2015. https://thediplomat.com/2015/03/mearsheimers-war-with-china/(opens in a new tab)
Friedberg, Aaron, “Globalisation and Chinese Grand Strategy(opens in a new tab) ,” Survival 60, no. 1 (2018): 7–40.
de Graaff, Nana and Van Apeldoorn, Bastiaan, “US-China Relations and the Liberal World Order: Contending Elites, Colliding Visions?(opens in a new tab), ” International Affairs 94, no. 1 (2018): 113–131.
Ikenberry, John and Lim, Darren, “China’s Emerging Institutional Statecraft: The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and the Prospects for Counter-Hegemony(opens in a new tab),” Project on International Order and Strategy, Brookings, April 2017.
https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/chinas-emerging-institutional-statecraft.pdf
Ikenberry, John, “The Rise of China and the Future of Liberal World Order(opens in a new tab),” Transcript of speech to Chatham House, 7 May 2014, https://www.chathamhouse.org/sites/default/files/field/field_document/20140507RiseofChina.pdf
Ikenberry, John, “The Rise of China and the Future of the West: Can the Liberal System Survive?(opens in a new tab) ,” Foreign Affairs, January/February 2008.
Layne, Christopher, “The US-Chinese Power Shift and the End of the Pax Americana(opens in a new tab) ,” International Affairs 94, no. 1 (2018): 89–111.
Mearsheimer, John. “Can China Rise Peacefully?(opens in a new tab).” In The Tragedy of Great Power Politics (updated edition), John Mearsheimer, 360–411. New York: W. W. Norton and Company, 20014.
Shambaugh, David, “U.S.-China Rivalry in Southeast Asia: Power Shift or Competitive Coexistence (opens in a new tab),” International Security 42, no. 4 (2018): 85–127.
Videos and podcasts
Bill Callahan, ‘Mearsheimer Vs Nye on the Rise of China’, July 2015, https://vimeo.com/143344083(opens in a new tab)
Interview with Aaron Friedberg, ‘The Emerging U.S.-China Strategic Rivalry ’, Council on Foreign Relations, June, 2018, https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/emerging-us-china-strategic-rivalry-aaron-friedberg(opens in a new tab)
Interview with John Mearsheimer, March 2016, http://bit.ly/2vZ129f
