The Socialization of China's Assertiveness: Examining Waltz's Neorealist Mechanism of "Socialization" in China's Regional Security Relations Academic Article uri icon

abstract

  • This is a study of learning and socialization in Chinas foreign security policy, examining how China has at times been more assertive and in other instances has taken a more accommodating approach in its foreign security policy behavior. This paper argues that China has been socialized by its international security environment by exploring Kenneth Waltzs theoretical mechanism of the socialization of states in the international system. The 19951996 Taiwan Strait Crisis and the early 2000s, the Senkaku/Diaoyutai crises from 2012 to 2015, and the South China Sea in the mid-1990s are all instances in which China has employed force only to suffer strategically. This has eventually led to a less confrontational posture and contributed to the pursuit of a more cooperative engagement strategy with both Southeast Asia (from 1998 to 2008) and Taiwan ([Formula: see text]20062016). Variations in Chinas assertiveness can be explained by the combination of domestic politics and signals from Chinas international security environment.

published proceedings

  • ISSUES & STUDIES

altmetric score

  • 1

author list (cited authors)

  • Norris, W.

citation count

  • 0

complete list of authors

  • Norris, William

publication date

  • December 2019