tommy chai | The Australian National University (original) (raw)
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University of the Basque Country, Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea
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Political divergence has complicated China’s quest for cross-strait reunification but has not mad... more Political divergence has complicated China’s quest for cross-strait reunification but has not made it completely impossible due to its authoritarian capacity to adapt to Taiwan’s consolidated democracy. On the one hand, Taiwan’s democratisation has fundamentally reshaped cross-strait relations from a one-level game between the Kuomintang (KMT) and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to a two-level game. This has since unleashed political forces that could legally compete in Taiwan’s local elections and undermine the stability of ‘1992 Consensus’ as a precondition to China’s long-term goal of reunification. On the other hand, Taiwan’s democratic consolidation has reopened the door for the CCP to employ its tongzhan (‘United Front’) strategy to ‘divide and conquer’ the Taiwan populace in a war of position. Although the success remains unclear, it demonstrates the CCP’s flexibility to capitalize on its singleparty authoritarian state apparatus to gradually ‘hegemonize’ the dominant norms...
Australian Journal of International Affairs, 2020
Wedging is an important strategy for China to disrupt potential countervailing response in its qu... more Wedging is an important strategy for China to disrupt potential countervailing response in its quest for regional hegemony. Yet, little has been known about how China pursues this strategy and the conditions for its success. This article contends that China has employed a combined statist and trans-state approach to wedge the U.S.-Australia alliance. Beijing has two main aims: promote an alignment of interest with Canberra at Washington's expense and prevent Canberra from siding with Washington. It relies on three modes of influence (coercion, inducement and persuasion) to alter the costs and benefits of Canberra remaining aligned to Washington. The success of China's wedge strategy is contingent on the use of policy compartmentalisation, the target's regime type and the nature of its trans-state influence. China has achieved partial success in three issue areas: the South China Sea dispute, the U.S.-China 5G competition and the international isolation of Taiwan.
How China attempts to drive a wedge in the U.S.-Australia alliance, 2020
Wedging is an important strategy for China to disrupt potential countervailing response in its qu... more Wedging is an important strategy for China to disrupt potential countervailing response in its quest for regional hegemony. Yet, little has been known about how China pursues this strategy and the conditions for its success. This article contends that China has employed a combined statist and trans-state approach to wedge the U.S.-Australia alliance. Beijing has two main aims: promote an alignment of interest with Canberra at Washington’s expense and prevent Canberra from siding with Washington. It relies on three modes of influence (coercion, inducement and persuasion) to alter the costs and benefits of Canberra remaining aligned to Washington. The success of China’s wedge strategy is contingent on the use of policy compartmentalisation, the target’s regime type and the nature of its trans-state influence. China has achieved partial success in three issue areas: the South China Sea dispute, the U.S.-China 5G competition and the international isolation of Taiwan.
Political divergence has complicated China’s quest for cross-strait reunification but has not mad... more Political divergence has complicated China’s quest for cross-strait reunification but has not made it completely impossible due to its authoritarian capacity to adapt to Taiwan’s consolidated democracy. On the one hand, Taiwan’s democratisation has fundamentally reshaped cross-strait relations from a one-level game between the Kuomintang (KMT) and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to a two-level game. This has since unleashed political forces that could legally compete in Taiwan’s local elections and undermine the stability of ‘1992 Consensus’ as a precondition to China’s long-term goal of reunification. On the other hand, Taiwan’s democratic consolidation has reopened the door for the CCP to employ its tongzhan (‘United Front’) strategy to ‘divide and conquer’ the Taiwan populace in a war of position. Although the success remains unclear, it demonstrates the CCP’s flexibility to capitalize on its singleparty authoritarian state apparatus to gradually ‘hegemonize’ the dominant norms...
Australian Journal of International Affairs, 2020
Wedging is an important strategy for China to disrupt potential countervailing response in its qu... more Wedging is an important strategy for China to disrupt potential countervailing response in its quest for regional hegemony. Yet, little has been known about how China pursues this strategy and the conditions for its success. This article contends that China has employed a combined statist and trans-state approach to wedge the U.S.-Australia alliance. Beijing has two main aims: promote an alignment of interest with Canberra at Washington's expense and prevent Canberra from siding with Washington. It relies on three modes of influence (coercion, inducement and persuasion) to alter the costs and benefits of Canberra remaining aligned to Washington. The success of China's wedge strategy is contingent on the use of policy compartmentalisation, the target's regime type and the nature of its trans-state influence. China has achieved partial success in three issue areas: the South China Sea dispute, the U.S.-China 5G competition and the international isolation of Taiwan.
How China attempts to drive a wedge in the U.S.-Australia alliance, 2020
Wedging is an important strategy for China to disrupt potential countervailing response in its qu... more Wedging is an important strategy for China to disrupt potential countervailing response in its quest for regional hegemony. Yet, little has been known about how China pursues this strategy and the conditions for its success. This article contends that China has employed a combined statist and trans-state approach to wedge the U.S.-Australia alliance. Beijing has two main aims: promote an alignment of interest with Canberra at Washington’s expense and prevent Canberra from siding with Washington. It relies on three modes of influence (coercion, inducement and persuasion) to alter the costs and benefits of Canberra remaining aligned to Washington. The success of China’s wedge strategy is contingent on the use of policy compartmentalisation, the target’s regime type and the nature of its trans-state influence. China has achieved partial success in three issue areas: the South China Sea dispute, the U.S.-China 5G competition and the international isolation of Taiwan.