POLS 425 U.S.

Foreign Policy
U.S.-China Relations: How
Should the U.S. Deal with a
Rising Power?

U.S. Foreign Policy

The United States and China

Background Video

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What perspective is represented in the video?

U.S. Foreign Policy

The United States and China

How should the United States deal

with China?
What is the first step we must take before
answering this question?
Hint: Think like a constructivist
We must determine what Chinas interests and
intentions are: everything flows from the assumptions
we make about what China wants
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U.S. Foreign Policy

The United States and China

What does China want

Power and regional dominance
Realist answer: ________________________________

Economic growth and prosperity

Liberal answer: ________________________________
Economic dominance
Marxist answer: ________________________________
Whatever we say it wants

Constructivst answer: __________________________

U.S. Foreign Policy

The United States and China

China wants power and regional dominance
What are the policy implications of this realist
assumption? That is, how do realist answer the
question, How should the U.S. deal with China?

U.S. Foreign Policy

The United States and China

China wants power and regional dominance
Key Implication: Realists tell us that China must be
treated as a strategic threat, an enemy
China cannot rise peacefully (Mearschiemer)
[China] is bound to be no strategic friend of the
United States, but a long-term adversary
(Bernstein and Munro)

U.S. Foreign Policy

The United States and China

China wants power and regional dominance
What is the logic of the realist arguments provided
by Mearsheimer and Bernstein/Munro?

Mearscheimer: Better to
be Godzilla than Bambi
Translation

States with the potential

to become a great power,
a regional hegemon, will
always do so
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U.S. Foreign Policy

The United States and China

China wants power and regional dominance
Mearscheimer
To predict the future of Asia, one needs a theory
[i.e., realism] that explains how rising powers are
likely to act and how other states attempt to
establish hegemony . The ultimate goals of
every great power is to maximize its share of
world power and eventually dominate the
system
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U.S. Foreign Policy

The United States and China

China wants power and regional dominance
Bernstein and Munro
Nothing could be more important in understanding
Chinas goals and self-image than its military
modernization program
According to the authors, what is
significant about Chinas military
Basis logic: Chinas military program
is objective
that
build-up?
What doesproof
it tell us
the Chinese are hell bent on countering
U.S.
power and,
about Chinas
intentions?
eventually, pushing the United States out of Asia
altogether. When the Chinese are ready, they will not
hesitate to use force to achieve their goals
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U.S. Foreign Policy

The United States and China

China wants economic growth and prosperity
What are the policy implications of this liberal
assumption? That is, how do liberals answer the
question, How should the U.S. deal with China?

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U.S. Foreign Policy

The United States and China

China wants economic growth and prosperity
Key Implications. Chinas energies are directed toward
creating a more prosperous economy, and confrontation
with the United States will not serve this purpose
The United States, therefore, should treat China as
potential strategic partner; it should build rather than burn
bridges (perhaps by encouraging Chinas greater
integration into global institutions), and by recognizing that
China has legitimate interests in Asia

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U.S. Foreign Policy

The United States and China

China wants economic growth and prosperity
Logic of Liberal Argument
Internationally: Chinas economic growth is creating
stronger basis for regional integration, which increases
incentive for cooperation and reduces incentive for
conflict or force
China is increasingly replacing Japan as the hub of a
transnational assembly line of production (Feffer)
A confrontational foreign policy could disrupt Chinas growth,
harm hundreds of millions of Chinese, and threaten the
Communist Partys hold on power (Brzezinski)
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U.S. Foreign Policy

The United States and China

China wants economic growth and prosperity
Logic of Liberal Argument
Domestically: The democratic peace thesis
presupposes that a democratic China would be less
threatening; ironically, this point was made by Bernstein
and Munro
If China became a democracy its military build-up
would be far less threatening than if it remained a
dictatorship

Bernstein and Munros point raises an important

question

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Will China
become a
democracy?
How do Bernstein and
Munro answer this
question? Do they
provide a convincing
argument?

Bernstein and Munros argument

Democracy is contrary to Chinese political culture
Bureaucrats would have to relinquish power
The Chinese people dont want democracy
Democracy would subvert foreign policy interests
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U.S. Foreign Policy

The United States and China

China as a democracy? Points to Consider
The past is not the future: no country was a democracy before it
became a democracy
Democracy has always been about power and it has always
involved taking power from one group
The Chinese population is huge and hugely diverse: millions may
be satisfied with the status quo, but millions may want a
fundamental change
The 20th century witnessed a huge increase in the number of
democracies: there is no reason to believe that Chinese leaders
are any more capable of stopping this trend than other dictators
There is an undeniable connection between capitalist
development and democracy
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U.S. Foreign Policy

The United States and China

China wants economic growth and prosperity
The Logic of Liberal Argument
Whether or not China becomes a democracy, liberals tell
us that the country--or, more accurately, important actors
within the country--will have an interest in avoiding conflict
U.S. foreign policy, therefore, should be premised on
encouraging cooperation and partnership, while ensuring
that China does not seriously threaten US interests; liberals,
then, might support a policy of congagement
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U.S. Foreign Policy

The United States and China

Realism and Liberalism Compared
A Key Distinction
Realists believe in certainties: the certainty of
confrontation, the certainty of great power behavior, the
certainty of Chinese aggression
Liberals believe in uncertainty: the uncertainty of
economic growth, the uncertainty of integration, the
uncertainty of political change (e.g., democratization),
the uncertainty of choice
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U.S. Foreign Policy

The United States and China

Realism and Liberalism Compared

Who makes the better argument?

What are the strengths and weaknesses

of the realist and liberal perspectives?
Is there an alternative?
How would a constructivist
approach the question of
US-China relations?
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U.S. Foreign Policy

The United States and China

A Constructivist Approach

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