The Myth of War in the Taiwan Strait
Elite Perspectives from Beijing, Taipei, and Washington amid the Yizhou Dilemma
Published on 15. December 2024
Book
Hardback
212 pages
978-1-6669-6500-1 (ISBN)
Description
The Myth of War in the Taiwan Strait: Elite Perspectives from Beijing, Taipei, and Washington amid the Yizhou Dilemma proposes a new framework of the "Yizhou dilemma" to capture the conundrum faced by a hegemony (the U.S.), a rising power (Mainland China), and the weaker third entity (Taiwan) crucial to the rising power's ascendance. Taiyi Sun and Dennis Lu-Cheng Weng, drawing evidence from the assessments and perceptions of directly involved elites from Beijing, Taipei, and Washington, argue war is not imminent, yet action or inaction by each party could potentially lead to detrimental outcomes. For the rising power, overexpansion incurs significant costs, but restraint makes it unable to attain "major power status." Consequently, low-cost symbolic shows of force are more likely than a full invasion of the third entity. For the strategically vital yet relatively weaker entity, asserting autonomy and independence to put up a fight would risk escalating tension and trigger aggressive behaviors from the rising power. Yet, maintaining the status quo would allow the rising power to continue strengthening itself so that a coerced unification unfavorable to the weaker entity could become more probable. For the hegemony, leaving more looming challenges elsewhere unresolved could diminish the power of the hegemony, but getting involved leads to even more challenges.
Reviews / Votes
In this innovative book, The Myth of War in the Taiwan Strait, Taiyi Sun and Dennis Weng draw insights from a strikingly similar conflict during the ancient Three Kingdoms period. Deploying rarely accessible interviews and surveys, they uncover what US, mainland China, and Taiwan each must weigh in their decisions on war. -- Yong Deng, U.S. Naval Academy Prevailing policy discourse on the acute danger of war over Taiwan remains one-sided and myopic. Professors Sun and Weng provide an important counter argument based on close assessment of a comparable crisis in China's past along with analysis of recent surveys of elite opinion in Taiwan, mainland China and the United States. The supporting prefaces of Ma Ying-jeou, Jia Qingguo and Richard Bush are noteworthy. -- Robert G. Sutter, professor of International Affairs, George Washington University Move over, Thucydides! To western scholars asserting that war in the Taiwan Strait is likely because Sparta and Athens got into a war 2400 years ago, this book offers a sensible riposte: isn't China's own history at least as relevant? And shouldn't you learn some of it? Drawing on elite interviews, public opinion surveys - and yes, important examples from China's own turbulent history - Taiyi Sun and Dennis Weng push back against the prevailing sense of doom and gloom to present an original and nuanced assessment of the prospects for peace in the Taiwan Strait. -- Kharis Templeman, Hoover Institution, Stanford University The Myth of War in the Taiwan Strait should be required reading for anyone interested in cross-Strait relations. Professors Sun and Weng make adept use of historical parallels, novel survey data, and interviews with elite policymakers to produce a nuanced assessment of the prospects for peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait. Their important study belongs on bookshelves next to Richard Bush's Difficult Choices, Scott Kastner's War and Peace in the Taiwan Strait, and Ketian Zhang's China's Gambit. -- Michael A. Hunzeker, Associate Professor, Schar School of Policy & GovernmentMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
United States
Publishing group
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
7 BW Photos, 23 Tables
Dimensions
Height: 235 mm
Width: 157 mm
Thickness: 17 mm
Weight
505 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-6669-6500-1 (9781666965001)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Taiyi Sun | Dennis Lu-Chung Weng
The Myth of War in the Taiwan Strait
Elite Perspectives from Beijing, Taipei, and Washington Amid the Yizhou Dilemma
E-Book
12/2024
1st Edition
Lexington Books
€86.49
Available for download
Taiyi Sun | Dennis Lu-Chung Weng
The Myth of War in the Taiwan Strait
Elite Perspectives from Beijing, Taipei, and Washington Amid the Yizhou Dilemma
E-Book
12/2024
Lexington Books
€86.49
Available for download
Persons
Dr. Taiyi Sun is associate professor of political science at Christopher Newport University.
Dr. Dennis Lu-Chung Weng is associate professor of political science at Sam Houston State University and the founding director of the Asia Pacific Peace Research Institute (APPRI).
Dr. Dennis Lu-Chung Weng is associate professor of political science at Sam Houston State University and the founding director of the Asia Pacific Peace Research Institute (APPRI).
Content
Chapter 1. The Myth of War in the Taiwan Strait and the Yizhou Dilemma
Chapter 2. The Origin of the Taiwan Question and Where We Are Now
Chapter 3. Elite Survey Results from Beijing, Taipei, and Washington: Perceptions of War and Peace in the Taiwan Strait
Chapter 4. Elite Interviews and Focus Group Results from Beijing, Taipei, and Washington: Key Debates on War and Peace in the Taiwan Strait
Chapter 5. Do Decision Makers and the People Think Alike? The Perception Differences between the Elites and the Public
Chapter 6. Assessment by the Highest-Level Elites from Mainland China
Chapter 7. Assessment by the Highest-Level Elites from the Republic of China on Taiwan
Chapter 8. Assessment by the Highest-Level Elites from the U.S.
Chapter 9. The Yizhou Dilemma and the Prospects of the Taiwan Strait
Chapter 2. The Origin of the Taiwan Question and Where We Are Now
Chapter 3. Elite Survey Results from Beijing, Taipei, and Washington: Perceptions of War and Peace in the Taiwan Strait
Chapter 4. Elite Interviews and Focus Group Results from Beijing, Taipei, and Washington: Key Debates on War and Peace in the Taiwan Strait
Chapter 5. Do Decision Makers and the People Think Alike? The Perception Differences between the Elites and the Public
Chapter 6. Assessment by the Highest-Level Elites from Mainland China
Chapter 7. Assessment by the Highest-Level Elites from the Republic of China on Taiwan
Chapter 8. Assessment by the Highest-Level Elites from the U.S.
Chapter 9. The Yizhou Dilemma and the Prospects of the Taiwan Strait