Research

I work on international relations, East Asian security, and Chinese foreign policy. In Harmony and War: Confucian Culture and Chinese Power Politics (New York: Columbia Universtiy Press, 2011), I examine whether China's pacifist Confucian culture has constrained its use of force in the past and discuss the implications for understanding today's international politics. My study of Chinese military history during the Song Dynasty (960-1279) and the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) shows that China has preferred to use force to resolve security threats, adopted a more offensive grand strategy as its power grew, and expanded war aims in the absence of military or systemic constraints. The pacifist, antimilitarist bias of Confucian culture has not constrained Chinese use of force. As Chinese realpolitik was a product of the anarchic structure of system, its strategic behavior was similar to that of other great powers elsewhere. This pattern of realpolitik behavior has important implications for understanding Chinese foreign policy toward the United States.

In addition to the book, I have published articles in scholarly journals, with topics such as the strategic logic of China's peaceful development, using international relations theory to understand the rise of China, explaining how the process of Taiwan’s democratization increased tensions with China, evaluating the U.S. policy of strategic ambiguity in deterring conflict in the Taiwan Strait, and synthesizing theories of peripheral nationalism by examining China’s Muslim Xinjiang region and Guangdong province.

Selected Publications

Book:

  • Harmony and War: Confucian Culture and Chinese Power Politics (New York: Columbia University Press, 2011).

Journal Articles:

  • “China’s Response to the Unipolar World: The Strategic Logic of Peaceful Development,” Journal of Asian and African Studies, Vol. 45, No. 5 (October 2010), pp. 554-567.
  • “Offensive Realism and the Rise of China,” Issues & Studies, Vol. 40, No. 1 (March 2004), pp. 173-201. (pdf)
  • “Taiwan's Democratization and Cross-Strait Security," Orbis, Vol. 48, No. 2 (Spring 2004), pp. 293-304. (pdf)
  • “Leguan de xianshi zhuyi: guoji guanxi shoushi xianshi zhuyi zhi pingxi” (“Optimistic Realism: An Appraisal of Defensive Realism in International Relations”), Guoji guanxi xuebao (Journal of International Relations), Vol. 18 (December 2003), pp. 40-54. [in Chinese] (pdf)
  • “Preserving Peace in the Taiwan Strait,” Chinese Political Science Review, Vol. 33 (June 2002), pp.149-174. (pdf)
  •  “Toward A Synthesis of the Theories of Peripheral Nationalism: A Comparative Study of China’s Xinjiang and Guangdong,” Asian Ethnicity, Vol. 2, No. 2 (September 2001), pp. 177-195. (pdf)

Book Chapter:

  •  “Zhonggong zai meiguo anquan zhanlue zhong de jiaose,” (China’s role in American security strategy), in Yann-huei Song ed., Zhongmei guanxi zhuanti yanjiu: 2001-2003 (Topics on Sino-American Relations, 2001-2003) (Taipei: Institute of European and American Studies, Academia Sinica, 2006), pp. 97-120. [in Chinese] (pdf)

 


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