1st Edition

China’s Use of Military Force in Foreign Affairs The Dragon Strikes

By Markus B. Liegl Copyright 2017
    268 Pages
    by Routledge

    266 Pages
    by Routledge

    This book explains why China has resorted to the use of large-scale military force in foreign affairs.

    How will China use its growing military might in coming crisis and existing conflicts? This book contributes to the current debate on the future of the Asia-Pacific region by examining why China has resorted to using military force in the past. Utilizing fresh theoretical insights on the causes of interstate war and employing a sophisticated methodological framework, the book provides detailed analyses of China’s intervention in the Korean War, the Sino-Indian War, China’s border clashes with the Soviet Union and the Sino-Vietnamese War. It argues that China did not employ military force in these wars for the sake of national security or because of material issues under contestation, as frequently claimed. Rather, the book’s findings strongly suggest that considerations about China’s international status and relative standing are the principal reasons for China’s decision to engage in military force in these instances. When reflecting the study’s central insight back onto China’s contemporary territorial conflicts and problematic bilateral relationships, it is argued that the People’s Republic is still a status-seeking and thus highly status-sensitive actor. As a result, China’s status ambitions should be very carefully observed and well taken into account when interacting with the PRC.

    This book will be of much interest to students of Chinese foreign policy, Asian politics, military and strategic studies and IR in general.

    1. Introduction

    2. Why Nations go to War

    3. China's Korean War, 1950-1953

    4. The Sino-Indian War of 1962

    5. The Sino-Soviet Border Clashes of 1969

    6. China's Vietnam War, 1979

    7. Conclusion

    Biography

    Markus B. Liegl is a PhD candidate at the Goethe-University Frankfurt, Germany.

    "[...]Liegl’s work has the combined merit of expanding scholarly debates on the role of ‘emotions’ in IR and providing a sophisticated explanation for the role of status and standing in Chinese foreign policy. The timely topic and the author’s rigorous analyses further contribute to make the book particularly appealing to any scholar interested in exploring and understanding the various geopolitical implications of China’s rise in the current world."--Mauro Barelli, Journal of Conflict and Security Law