This dissertation investigates Taiwan's role in the twists and turns in its relationship with China from 1987 to 2004. It employs the methods of both case studies and the VAR (vector autoregression) time-series analysis to assess the impact of the following four factors on Taiwan's actions toward China: (1) the democratic transition in Taiwan, (2) Taiwan's electoral politics, (3) cross-Strait economic exchanges, and (4) U.S. Taiwan Policy. The research conclusions are as follows. First, President Lee Teng-hui's rational calculation in the late 1980s guided him to launch domestic political reforms while continuing former President Chiang Chingkuo's liberalization of Taiwan's China policy. Consequently, Taiwan's democratic transition was accompanied by the appearance of a peaceful policy toward China. Second, in order to win votes from the electorate, which increasingly embraced a Taiwanese identity after the mid-1990s, Taiwanese politicians tended to launch aggressive electoral campaigns against China. Accordingly, domestic elections turned out to be a conducive factor for Taiwan's conflictual actions toward China. Third, politicians' electoral consideration also overrode Taiwanese businessmen's preference for crossStrait stability. As a result, cross-Strait economic interdependence was unable to restrain Taiwan from taking aggressive policies toward China. Fourth, because Taiwanese politicians tended not to give in to U.S. pressures during Taiwan's elections, the U.S. could not successfully stop Taiwan's provocative actions toward China as elections neared in Taiwan. It was only when Taiwanese leaders sought to strengthen U.S.-Taiwan relations after election seasons ended that the U.S. could induce Taiwan to act cooperatively toward China. / text

The official reaction of the Russian Federation and of the People's Republic of China to the announcement made by the United States in December 2001 to abrogate the almost thirty years old Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty has been remarkably weak, given their sustained and coordinated opposition to the deployment of strategic defences against ballistic missiles (BMD). Because the existing literature, particularly balance of power theory, under-explored this puzzle and fails to provide a satisfactory explanation to it, a neoclassical realist model building on structural and unit-level variables is proposed to supplement this caveat. It is argued that Russia, as a stagnant great power experiencing trouble at the domestic level, bandwagons with the United States because it discounts the medium- and long-term threat posed by BMD. China, a rising developmental state, is soft balancing because it resents the project and the threat it poses to its security. It has not hard balanced so far because there is an acknowledgement that this could jeopardize its power base, as the telling example of the USSR collapse illustrated.

This thesis explores China's relations with Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, from 1991 to 2005, contributing to the body of knowledge by arguing that China's relations with post-Soviet Central Asia were shaped by security and economic imperatives in Xinjiang, home to Muslim Turkic nationalities who have historically challenged Beijing's jurisdiction. / As discussed in Chapter One, after 1949, the Communist Party sought to bring Xinjiang firmly within Beijing's orbit, ending a 150-year long period during which Beijing's hold over Xinjiang periodically faltered. The dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, coupled with instability in Afghanistan, led to new challenges to Beijing's authority. / Chapter Two examines China's relations with Central Asia from 1992 to 1996. In the post-Cold War order characterized by US primacy, China envisioned Central Asia as an arena of cooperation between China, Russia, and the independent republics. However, the republics became fertile ground for transnational Islamist movements. China feared spillover into Xinjiang; consequently, China extended economic cooperation to the impoverished republics with the understanding that they would suppress emigre Uighur organizations. Bilateral economic cooperation was also important for Xinjiang, which benefited from cross-border trade. / Chapter Three examines Sino-Central Asian relations from 1996 to 2001, exploring the development of the Shanghai Five mechanism in 1996 between China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan, which initially addressed confidence building, but after 1998, focused on regional security. This was important for China, since in 1996/1997, Xinjiang experienced instability that was exacerbated by the independence of Central Asia. Competition over the region's energy is also examined, which contributed to international rivalry. / Chapter Four examines Sino-Central Asian relations from 2001 to 2005. In June 2001, the Shanghai Accord signatories, and Uzbekistan, established the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). While envisioned as a forum for wide-ranging cooperation, combating "terrorism, separatism, and extremism," was an immediate priority. Following the attacks on September 11, 2001, the United States sought a military presence in Central Asia that temporarily undermined China's influence, heightening China's concerns over energy security. China's response was to gradually deepen relations with the republics in the energy and security fields.

This thesis explains the relationships between the British Expedition to China, the Qing state, and the Chinese maritime and river population during the Opium War (1839-1842). Drawing on scholarship on borderlands and frontiers as well as a variety of textual and visual sources, the thesis argues that the Opium War transformed vast coastal and waterway regions in Guangdong, Fujian, Zhejiang, and Jiangsu provinces into what can be conceptualized as "water borders." These water borders were initially characterized by the existence of the Qing Empire's sea frontier, where the Qing rulers, with the "inner-outer paradigm" in mind, strove to maintain control over those labeled as "outer barbarians," "Han evildoers," "villainous fishers," and the "Dan." The rise of a British wartime frontier in China and its adverse effects on local transportation as well as Chinese regional and international trade, however, destabilized southeast China's socioeconomic order. With the Qing forces weakened, Chinese piracy was unleashed, and given limited British naval power, there was an absence of any militarily hegemonic power in southeast China's waters. The British occupation and naval blockade, moreover, resulted in the emergence of overlaps and interstices of the Qing and British empires. On the one hand, the British Expedition and the Qing state conflicted over managing Chinese merchant craft and their trade. On the other hand, subject to neither Qing nor British control, many Chinese people living along the coast and rivers took advantage of the wartime opportunities and expanded their activities and networks to fissures of Qing control and the newly opened interstitial space. The thesis engages with Opium War studies by 're-reorienting' the war toward the coast and revealing the war's three "inner" aspects, namely the Qing efforts to "tame" the sea frontier, British rule in wartime China, and the Qing-British conflicts over controlling Chinese littoral people. The thesis, moreover, contributes to scholarship on late imperial and modern Chinese littoral societies. It argues that while the war marked the beginning of an unprecedented-scale interaction of Chinese coastal and riverine people with Westerners in China, the evolution of Chinese littoral societies during the war was in fact a continuation of the preceding centuries. The Opium War, the thesis argues, brought about one of the most dramatic political-social upheavals in late imperial littoral China. Furthermore, the thesis revisits British imperialism in late imperial and modern China by looking at the origins of the British "formal empire," limitations of British power, and wartime aids of the "indigenous" population for the British. The thesis also reassesses the significance of the Opium War in the history of the Qing Empire. It argues that for the Qing state, its anti-opium campaign and anti-British war in 1839-1842 constituted one of the recurrent threats on the maritime frontier for the empire's first two centuries. It also highlights some aspects of similarities and linkage of the Qing Empire's maritime and inland borders. Furthermore, the thesis reevaluates the Qing's state capacity during the Opium War and in the following years, highlighting its partial ability to control the empire's littorals. Last but not least, the water border framework constructed in the thesis serves to underscore some aspects of continuity in the political and socioeconomic development of late imperial southeast China, and to facilitate comparison between different frontiers in the Qing Empire, Southeast Asia, and beyond.

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China’s economic expansion in recent years is one of the most important geopolitical developments of the 21st century (Mockli, 2007). More interestingly, Africa relations with China continue to be of keen concern to many, precisely because these two countries have been humiliated severely during the years of colonialism. This study examines, to the extent possible, Chinese changing foreign policy and resource diplomacy towards Africa, using Nigeria as a case study specifically looking at socio–economic issues. The study uses the Hegemonic Stability Theory as a framework of analysis. While the method of data collection is premised on existing qualitative and quantitative analysis on Africa–China relations, faceto- face interviews and one telephonic interview with an expert on Africa–China relations were conducted as a method of gathering new data. The present study, finds that China’s economic expansion can be detrimental to Africa in many ways. For instance, China continues to export to Africa cheap manufactured goods, while extracting raw materials to fuel its own industrialization. This situation works against intra–Africa trade, which could potentially address the socio–economic issues facing the continent. However, to maintain its resource supply and stable market, China’s foreign policy of ‘non–interference’ has changed significantly, particularly towards Africa. For example, China recently opened its first military base in Africa. This study argues that, because of the above mentioned arguments, the repercussions of the Africa–China relations could be dangerous for Africa since the continent is not really benefiting from these dealings. Furthermore, this study notes that China is contributing negatively towards the socio–economic development of Nigeria, despite the fact that it provides Nigeria with aid and loans, primarily for infrastructure projects. / Development Studies / M.A. (Development Studies)

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Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Many authors, critics, and policy makers question the presence of a unified grand strategy with which the United States has striven toward in recent years. This is a topic worthy of pursuit since such a strategy is responsible for identifying how this nation intends to accomplish its goals. This thesis defines what, if any, grand strategy the United States is currently pursuing. It observes several prominent theories of grand strategy, from both the realist and liberal perspectives. This analysis is set in context of historical grand strategy decisions since World War II and uses the framework of Taiwan as the case study. The thesis then compares the three theories, Selective Engagement, Offshore Balancing, and the Liberal Milieu and their recommendations to real-world activities of the United States with a focus primarily on military deployments and national objectives. The study reveals that of the three in question, the Liberal Milieu grand strategy is the only one that is supported by ongoing deployments in the East Asia region as well as by the national rhetoric which define our policy objectives.

This research was based on the implementation analysis of the South Africa-China bilateral agreements, specifically the case of the South African Agricultural Technology Demonstration Centre (SAATDC). In this regard, the researcher was of the view that, with implementation analysis, it is possible to identify the particular circumstances that could affect implementation of a particular policy, both in advance of a policy’s adoption or after it is implemented. This research tracked the implementation of the SAATDC bilateral agreement to examine whether this bilateral agreement was effectively implemented or not. There is a need to translate political commitment into a practical programme for successful implementation. Implementation is one of the major problems confronting developing nations, of which South Africa is one. Furthermore the researcher investigated whether the SAATDC bilateral agreement meets necessary pre-conditions of policy implementation, necessary for successful policy implementation, and examines whether these pre-conditions are adequately addressed in the bilateral policy document.Previous research has shown that once these preconditions are met, the potential for successful implementation of a policy increases. There is a need in South Africa to fully exploit opportunities provided through similar Chinese aid projects for the benefit of local workers such as artisans, engineers and project managers by ensuring that bilateral agreements adequately address factors that could undermine South Africa’s ASGISA and JIPSA objectives regarding skills and technology transfer. It is important to investigate whether the bilateral agreement here makes sufficient provision for adequate involvement of South African engineers, artisans and South African companies in the implementation of such Chinese aid programmes or projects. There is a need to enhance the sophistication of local artisans and engineers as required by the ASGISA and JIPSA strategy and objectives. / Public Administration & Management / M. Admin. (Public Administration)

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