The U.S. Pivot and Regional Security in Northeast Asia
Loading...
Date
2016-11-04
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Ohio State University. Mershon Center for International Security Studies
Abstract
For over a quarter century, there have been dire and continued predictions that East Asia is experiencing an arms race, that the regional security dilemma is intensifying, and that dangerous instability driven by China is just around the corner. Yet in reality, over the past twenty-five years, the proportion of the economy devoted to defense spending in East Asia has steadily declined.
Is East Asia actually more peaceful than the conventional wisdom might suggest? If so, why? I argue that there is little evidence that East Asian states are engaged in an arms race, that few states are sending costly signals about their resolve to suffer the costs of war, that there is indeed almost no evidence that states in the region are preparing for war, and that the region is more peaceful, stable, and prosperous now than at anytime in the past century. If the region is more stable than popularly believed, then the U.S. pivot to East Asia should remain focused on diplomatic and economic initiatives and not get sidetracked with military issues.
Description
The media can be accessed here: http://streaming.osu.edu/KnowledgeBank/Mershon16/David_Kang.m4v
Keywords
regional security, strategy, Northeast Asia