Powerplay : : The Origins of the American Alliance System in Asia / / Victor Cha.

• Superior document: Title is part of eBook package: De Gruyter Princeton University Press Complete eBook-Package 2016
• VerfasserIn: Cha, Victor,
• Place / Publishing House: Princeton, NJ : : Princeton University Press, , [2016]; ©2016
• Year of Publication: 2016
• Language: English
• Series: Princeton Studies in International History and Politics ; 151
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (352 p.) :; 11 b/w illus., 11 tables

While the American alliance system in Asia has been fundamental to the region's security and prosperity for seven decades, today it encounters challenges from the growth of China-based regional organizations. How was the American alliance system originally established in Asia, and is it currently under threat? How are competing security designs being influenced by the United States and China? In Powerplay, Victor Cha draws from theories about alliances, unipolarity, and regime complexity to examine the evolution of the U.S. alliance system and the reasons for its continued importance in Asia and the world.Cha delves into the fears, motivations, and aspirations of the Truman and Eisenhower presidencies as they contemplated alliances with the Republic of China, Republic of Korea, and Japan at the outset of the Cold War. Their choice of a bilateral "hub and spokes" security design for Asia was entirely different from the system created in Europe, but it was essential for its time. Cha argues that the alliance system's innovations in the twenty-first century contribute to its resiliency in the face of China's increasing prominence, and that the task for the world is not to choose between American and Chinese institutions, but to maximize stability and economic progress amid Asia's increasingly complex political landscape.Exploring U.S. bilateral relations in Asia after World War II, Powerplay takes an original look at how global alliances are achieved and maintained.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter -- Contents -- List of Illustrations and Tables -- Preface -- A note to the Reader -- 1. The Puzzle -- 2. The Argument: Powerplay -- 3. Origins of the American Alliance System in Asia -- 4. Taiwan: "Chaining Chiang" -- 5. Korea: "Rhee- Straint" -- 6. Japan: "Win Japan" -- 7. Counterarguments -- 8. Conclusion: US Alliances and the Complex Patchwork of Asia's Architecture -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index