American Grand Strategy and East Asian Security in the Twenty-First Century

David C. Kang’s latest book, American Grand Strategy and East Asian Security in the Twenty-First Century (hereafter, AGS) by Cambridge University Press is an elegant restatement of an argument – albeit with a couple of interesting twists – first rendered in earlier efforts such as China Rising: Peace, Power, and Order in East Asia (Columbia University Press, 2007). Essentially, Kang takes Realpolitik suppositions expectations about East Asian responses to rising China head on and demolishes them with aplomb. Balance of power theory predicts that the East Asian countries balance the rise of China. Or they ought to. According to AGS, this is not the case. The book argues that by and large, East Asian states do not think and act as if they are being threatened militarily by China. Instead, they are increasing their economic, social, and diplomatic relations with China; in a word, they are pursuing what Kang calls “comprehensive security” – a slew of strategies comprising diplomatic, institutional, economic and military approaches – with each other, with China, and with the USA. They do not wish to be forced to choose between China and the USA. While they welcome the USA’s presence in Asia, they, however, harbor little appetite for a containment strategy against China. Moreover, since their national survival is not being threatened by China, it is, therefore, unlikely that East Asian countries would side with the USA if the latter were to adopt a tough stance against China

Argument (complex analysis · China · Development economics · East Asia · Economic history · Economics · Grand strategy · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Realpolitik · Sociology · International Relations and Foreign Policy · History · Law

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