Tangled Titans

The United States and China

Edited by David Shambaugh George Washington Univers

Publication date:

09 August 2012

Length of book:

454 pages

Publisher

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Dimensions:

231x161mm
6x9"

ISBN-13: 9781442219694

Tangled Titans offers a current and comprehensive assessment of the most important relationship in international affairs—that between the United States and China. How the relationship evolves will have a defining impact on the future of world politics, the Asian region, and the citizens of many nations. In this definitive book, leading experts provide an in-depth exploration of the historical, domestic, bilateral, regional, global, and future contexts of this complex relationship. The contributors argue that the relationship is a unique combination of deep interdependence, limited cooperation, and increasing competition. Never in modern history have two great powers been so deeply intertwined—yet so suspicious and potentially antagonistic toward each other. Exploring this cooperative and competitive dynamic, the contributors offer a wealth of detail on contemporary Sino-American relations unavailable elsewhere. Students will find Tangled Titans essential reading to understand the current dynamics and future direction of relations between the world’s two most important powers.

Contributions by: Rosemary Foot, Charles W. Freeman III, Bonnie S. Glaser, Avery Goldstein, Yufan Hao, Harry Harding, G. John Ikenberry, Terry Lautz, Dawn Murphy, Shelley Rigger, David Shambaugh, Robert Sutter, Ashley J. Tellis, Nancy Bernkopf Tucker, Christopher P. Twomey, and Wu Xinbo.

Part I: Introduction
Chapter 1: Tangled Titans: Conceptualizing the U.S.-China Relationship
David Shambaugh
Part II: The Historical Context
Chapter 2: The Evolution of U.S.-China Relations
Nancy Bernkopf Tucker
Part III: The Theoretical Context
Chapter 3: The Rise of China, the United States, and the Future of the Liberal International Order
G. John Ikenberry
Chapter 4: U.S.-China Relations in a Realist World
Ashley J. Tellis
Part IV: The Domestic Context
Chapter 5: Domestic American Influences on U.S.-China Relations
Robert Sutter
Chapter 6: Domestic Chinese Influences on U.S.-China Relations
Yufan Hao
Part V: The Bilateral Context
Chapter 7: The Diplomatic Relationship: Substance and Process
Bonnie S. Glaser
Chapter 8: The Commercial and Economic Relationship
Charles W. Freeman III
Chapter 9: The Cultural Relationship
Terry Lautz
Chapter 10: The Military-Security Relationship
Christopher P. Twomey
Part VI: The Regional Context
Chapter 11: U.S.-China Interactions in Asia
Avery Goldstein
Chapter 12: Taiwan in U.S.-China Relations
Shelley Rigger
Part VII: The Global Context
Chapter 13: U.S.-China Interactions in the Middle East, Africa, Europe, and Latin America
David Shambaugh and Dawn Murphy
Chapter 14: U.S.-China Interactions in Global Governance and International Organizations
Rosemary Foot
Part VIII: Visions for the Future
Chapter 15: Chinese Visions of the Future of U.S.-China Relations
Wu Xinbo
Chapter 16: American Visions of the Future of U.S.-China Relations: Competition, Cooperation and Conflict
Harry Harding

Distinguished Sinologist Shambaugh (George Washington Univ.) edited this volume and provided an opening chapter on conceptualizing the US-China relationship. He posits that the relationship between the US and the People's Republic of China involves an uneasy and ever shifting blend of cooperation and competition, coining the term "coopetition." Therefore, policy makers in both countries face the daunting tasks of simultaneously managing competition and maximizing cooperation. Shambaugh has recruited 15 recognized international scholars to assess the dynamics of these US and Chinese interactions. In an effective format, these scholars address the manifold aspects of the relationship: the theoretical, the domestic, the bilateral, the regional, and the global contexts. On the basis of these analyses, a distinguished Chinese academic and then a distinguished American scholar evaluate "Visions of the Future" in the relationship between these "tangled titans." A valuable work that will be not outdated soon, it belongs in all serious academic libraries. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduate, graduate, and research collections.