Chong Ja Ian (Associate Professor, National University of Singapore; HYI Visiting Scholar, 2019-20)
Chair/discussant: M. Taylor Fravel (Arthur and Ruth Sloan Professor of Political Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology)
Co-sponsored with the Asia Center and the Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies
States in eastern Asia and the Pacific entered the 21st century trying to find a middle way between a dominant United States and a rising China—to hedge. Such behavior sought to moderate major power competition and make the region more stable. Their aspirations have apparently not panned out. This presentation argues that a key reason for this outcome was because efforts to hedge, while individually rational, aggregated to exacerbate the security dilemma between Beijing and Washington, creating greater uncertainty and incentives for more intense competition.
Upcoming Events
Visiting Scholar Talks
From Serampore to Singapore: The Making of the Missionary Enterprise to China (1800-1840)Friday, April 5, 2024
Visiting Scholar Talks
Does the Sino-Tibetan Language Family Exist? — A Fresh Exploration of the Historical Relationship Between Tibetan, Chinese, and Surrounding LanguagesWednesday, April 10, 2024
Visiting Scholar Talks
Between Mundus and Tianxia: Chinese Cartographic Syncretism in the 17th and 18th CenturiesThursday, April 25, 2024