Dangerous Strait: The U.S.-Taiwan-China Crisis
288Dangerous Strait: The U.S.-Taiwan-China Crisis
288Hardcover
-
PICK UP IN STORECheck Availability at Nearby Stores
Available within 2 business hours
Related collections and offers
Overview
Events late in 2004 demonstrated the volatility of the situation, as Taiwan's legislative elections unexpectedly preserved a slim majority for supporters of closer relations with China. Beijing, nevertheless, threatened to pass an anti-secession law, apt to revitalize pro-independence forces in Taiwan—and make war more likely. Taking change as a central theme, these essays by prominent scholars and practitioners in the arena of U.S.-Taiwan-Chinese relations combine historical context with timely analysis of an accelerating crisis. The book clarifies historical developments, examines myths about past and present policies, and assesses issues facing contemporary policymakers. Moving beyond simplistic explanations that dominate discussion about the U.S.-Taiwan-China relationship, Dangerous Strait challenges common wisdom and approaches the political, economic, and strategic aspects of the cross-Strait situation anew. The result is a collection that provides fresh and much-needed insights into a complex problem and examines the ways in which catastrophe can be avoided.
The essays examine a variety of issues, including the movement for independence and its place in Taiwanese domestic politics; the underlying weaknesses of democracy in Taiwan; and the significance of China and Taiwan's economic interdependence. In the security arena, contributors provide incisive critiques of Taiwan's incomplete military modernization; strains in U.S.-Taiwan relations and their differing interpretations of China's intentions; and the misguided inclination among some U.S. policymakers to abandon Washington's traditional policy of strategic ambiguity.
Product Details
ISBN-13: | 9780231135641 |
---|---|
Publisher: | Columbia University Press |
Publication date: | 03/24/2005 |
Pages: | 288 |
Product dimensions: | 6.00(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.00(d) |
Age Range: | 18 Years |
About the Author
Table of Contents
AcknowledgmentsContributors
List of Abbreviations
1: Dangerous Strait: Introduction, by Nancy Bernkopf Tucker
2 The Unfinished Business of Taiwan's Democratization, by Shelley Rigger
3: Building a Taiwanese Republic: The Independence Movement, 1945–Present, by Steven Phillips
4: Lee Teng-hui and "Separatism," by Richard Bush
5: China-Taiwan Economic Linkage: Between Insulation and Superconductivity, by T. J. Cheng
6: Taiwan's Defense Reforms and Military Modernization Program: Objectives, Achievements, and Obstacles, by Michael D. Swaine
7: U.S.–Taiwan Security Cooperation: Enhancing an Unofficial Relationship, by Michael S. Chase
8: Strategic Ambiguity or Strategic Clarity?, by Nancy Bernkopf Tucker
Notes
Index
What People are Saying About This
Dangerous Strait is a superb one-stop wonder: it provides authoritative, straightforward, and balanced coverage of the historical, diplomatic, political, economic, and military complexities--and sensitivities--which continue to define U.S.-Taiwan-China relations. With this book available, old hands, as well as newcomers to the subject, have no excuses for not understanding this challenging aspect of U.S. relations in East Asia.
Bates Gill, Freeman Chair in China Studies, Center for Strategic and International Studies
This superb collection of essays is one of the few books to analyze both cross-Strait relations and U.S. policy toward the Taiwan issue. The focus is on domestic changes on Taiwan over the last twenty years--particularly political democratization, the emergence of Taiwanese nationalism, and the transfer of power from the Kuomintang to the Democratic Progressive Party -- as well as Beijing's and Washington's responses to those developments. I highly recommend it.
Harry Harding, Elliott School of International Affairs, The George Washington University
This is a splendid compilation containing the considered reflections of some of the ablest scholars of East Asian politics and diplomacy in the business. This rich volume offers measured judgments which, if heeded, may help ward off the perilous confrontation now building in the Taiwan Strait between an increasingly nationalistic China and a Taiwan whose citizens crave greater international recognition. President Bush, read this book.