Journal Article - Quarterly Journal: International Security
Regime Insecurity and International Cooperation: Explaining China's Compromises in Territorial Disputes
Summary
Since the 1995–96 Taiwan Strait crisis, scholars and policymakers have become increasingly concerned about China’s territorial ambitions. Yet China has also used peaceful means to manage conflicts, settling seventeen of its twenty-three territorial disputes, often with substantial compromises. This article develops a counterintuitive argument about the effects of domestic conflict on foreign policy to explain China’s behavior. Contrary to the diversionary war hypothesis, this argument posits that state leaders are more likely to compromise in territorial disputes when confronting internal threats to regime security, including rebellions and legitimacy crises. Regime insecurity best explains China’s pattern of compromise and delay in its territorial disputes. China’s leaders have compromised when faced with internal threats to regime security, including the revolt in Tibet, the instability following the Great Leap Forward, the legitimacy crisis after the Tiananmen upheaval, and separatist violence in Xinjiang.
For more information on this publication:
Please contact
International Security
For Academic Citation:
Fravel, M. Taylor. “Regime Insecurity and International Cooperation: Explaining China's Compromises in Territorial Disputes.” Quarterly Journal: International Security, vol. 30. no. 2. (Fall 2005): 46-83 .
- Recommended
- In the Spotlight
- Most Viewed
Recommended
Journal Article
- Quarterly Journal: International Security
The Peril of Peaking Powers: Economic Slowdowns and Implications for China’s Next Decade
Journal Article
- Quarterly Journal: International Security
Collective Resilience: Deterring China’s Weaponization of Economic Interdependence
Analysis & Opinions
- Foreign Policy
Here's How Scared of China You Should Be
In the Spotlight
Most Viewed
Analysis & Opinions
- The Sunday Times
China is Using Every Trick for World Domination
Paper
- Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School
Attacking Artificial Intelligence: AI’s Security Vulnerability and What Policymakers Can Do About It
Analysis & Opinions
- Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School
NATO’s Concept for Deterrence and Defence of the Euro-Atlantic Area (DDA)
Summary
Since the 1995–96 Taiwan Strait crisis, scholars and policymakers have become increasingly concerned about China’s territorial ambitions. Yet China has also used peaceful means to manage conflicts, settling seventeen of its twenty-three territorial disputes, often with substantial compromises. This article develops a counterintuitive argument about the effects of domestic conflict on foreign policy to explain China’s behavior. Contrary to the diversionary war hypothesis, this argument posits that state leaders are more likely to compromise in territorial disputes when confronting internal threats to regime security, including rebellions and legitimacy crises. Regime insecurity best explains China’s pattern of compromise and delay in its territorial disputes. China’s leaders have compromised when faced with internal threats to regime security, including the revolt in Tibet, the instability following the Great Leap Forward, the legitimacy crisis after the Tiananmen upheaval, and separatist violence in Xinjiang.
- Recommended
- In the Spotlight
- Most Viewed
Recommended
Journal Article - Quarterly Journal: International Security
The Peril of Peaking Powers: Economic Slowdowns and Implications for China’s Next Decade
Journal Article - Quarterly Journal: International Security
Collective Resilience: Deterring China’s Weaponization of Economic Interdependence
Analysis & Opinions - Foreign Policy
Here's How Scared of China You Should Be
In the Spotlight
Most Viewed
Analysis & Opinions - The Sunday Times
China is Using Every Trick for World Domination
Paper - Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School
Attacking Artificial Intelligence: AI’s Security Vulnerability and What Policymakers Can Do About It
Analysis & Opinions - Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School
NATO’s Concept for Deterrence and Defence of the Euro-Atlantic Area (DDA)