Thesis advisor: Robert Ross / The regional great power competition between the United States and China is escalating in various dimensions such as economic, political, and security realms. Who instigates such tension and how? To answer these questions, this paper inquires whether it is the declining power, the United States, or the rising power, China, that causes regional tension to heighten. Applying the theories on power transition and power transition war to the three case studies on South Korea, Taiwan, and the South China Sea dispute in Vietnam, how the United States is provoking China to adopt policies that increase tension will be examined. / Thesis (MA) — Boston College, 2022. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Political Science.

This dissertation investigates the U.S. military presence in World War II-era China, Americans’ first attempt to forge a nominally equal military alliance with a non-Western nation. Drawing on overlooked Chinese and English-language sources from archives in six countries, it recasts how we view that relationship. Other studies attribute the wartime deterioration of Chinese-American relations to the contentious relationship between Chinese President Chiang Kai-shek and U.S. General Joseph Stilwell, or to conflicting wartime and postwar strategic aims. This study, by contrast, shows how the success and failures of the alliance turned upon the actions of a far larger cast of characters: GIs and Chinese soldiers, ordinary civilians, interpreters, hostel workers, farmers, prostitutes, thieves, bandits, and smugglers. It argues that the power asymmetries between these various actors permeated all levels of Sino-American interaction, undermining the Guomindang government, stoking American feelings of superiority, exacerbating Chinese sensitivities about unequal treatment, and making these allies into adversaries even after Stilwell left China but also long before Cold War animosities solidified. A military occupation, friendly or otherwise, required a daunting set of arrangements that are rarely examined in detail. Beginning in 1941, as some 70,000 U.S. troops trickled into China, American commanders and their Chinese hosts set about solving knotty problems of alliance management related to providing food, lodging, and interpreters. Interactions between GIs and Chinese civilians nevertheless proved fraught, particularly in relation to issues of money, legal privileges, cultural norms, and sex. As theft, misconduct, and violent encounters snowballed, military-to-military relations also deteriorated. From Chinese perspectives, the alliance became an occupation. From American perspectives, the Chinese became impediments—rather than partners. The wartime alliance marked a key turning point in how the United States projected power around the world as well as a seminal moment for modern Chinese perceptions of Americans. After Japan’s surrender, Chinese Communists would exploit local resentment against American servicemen to attack the Chinese Nationalists and seize and consolidate power. Meanwhile, the U.S. military’s legal, cultural, economic, political, and sexual impact on China set recurring patterns of American military behavior that have complicated U.S. policy down to the present day. / 2020-12-03T00:00:00Z

Realism theory provides the most powerful explanation for the state of war and the rise and fall of great powers. It expounds the important concepts and themes like national sovereignty, security, survival, interests, balance of power, balance of terror, alliance, dominance, hegemony and polarity. Realism can be classified as classical realism, structural realism and neoclassical realism. In recent years, liberalism, globalism and constructivism also have greatly influenced academics and policy-makers under the new phenomena of globalization and terrorism. This paper explores how classical realism theory has been applied to and revealed in the issue of American policy towards China. The past years of U.S. relations with China have been marked by many wars and diplomatic issues that bear important messages for contemporary policy-makers. Based upon the most representative incidents in the chronicles, this paper categorizes American relations with China into three periods: period one, from commercialism in 1784 to imperialism in 1899; period two, from dominance in 1900 to confrontation in 1949; Period three, from enemies in 1950 to competitors in 2009. From a brief retrospective of major events that occurred, it is concluded that most incidents are related to national interest and power issues, while only several cases are about ideological disputes. The emergence of China as an economic power within the last few years will shape the world as much as the United States in the late 19th century. As America is the world's greatest power and China is the world's greatest emerging power, the relationship between these two countries will largely determine the history of the twenty-first century. History teaches that such power transitions are inherently fraught with dangers and opportunities. Thus, it would serve the interests of the United States to rethink its relationship with China and make its policies more global and focused on the long term. No matter what happens in China, American policy towards that country should be guided by a clear and firm sense of American national interests.

As the world’s largest emitters and economies, the United States and China play a critical role in global climate mitigation. Using Putnam’s two-level game showcases how the domestic political context of each country impacts their international policies. However, Putnam’s framework does not differentiate between bilateral and multilateral circumstances. The clarity and concentration of perceived costs and benefits for the United States and China from climate policies lead to differing outcomes on the multilateral and bilateral stage. Fear of the free-rider effect makes players assume payoffs that resemble the Prisoner’s Dilemma during multilateral climate negotiations, whereas bilateral negotiations usually result in more cooperative outcomes. These contrasting policy outcomes reflect the hot and cold relationship between the United States and China. The additional expediency and effectiveness of bilateral agreements suggest that substantial climate action will likely originate from strong bilateral agreements. In an optimal scenario, increased U.S.-China climate collaboration translates into a stronger relationship between the two global superpowers and provides other nations with the confidence and certainty to invest in abatement in a renewed global climate regime.

During World War II, the United States had worked in a multilateral fashion with Great Britain and the Soviet Union to form the victorious "Big Three." The countries were optimistic that the peace they had achieved would be sustainable. However, after the Cold War began, the United States backed away from opportunities to work multilaterally; instead, working unilaterally to spread democracy and other principles around the globe. On many occasions, the United States has chosen to take action alone, leaving it isolated from other countries. With the end of the Cold War and the collapse of the bipolar system, the United States has sought superpower status and has sought to become a global hegemon on many fronts. Issues such as ideology and human rights have created tension in U.S. bilateral relations, notably with Russia, China, and France. While headway has been made to reduce tension since the Cold War, other issues have prevented the complete alleviation of tension in U.S. foreign relations with the three countries. The United States' pursuit of hegemonic status employing a unilateral approach and isolationist strategy has resulted in much of the tension seen today. While there are many examples, the most prominent example is that of the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan. This and several other issues are addressed in the evolution of U.S. foreign policy after the Cold War with Russia, China, and France.

In my thesis, I analyze the foreign policy of George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama in 1989-2010. Upon comparing their China policies, I concluded that the approach of the United States to China is inconsistent, mainly due to the changing patterns of power, conflicting value systems and the growing importance of commercial interests in the relationship.

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由於氣候變遷對全球帶來不可回復的危害，並成為影響國家安全的重要因素之一，聯合國自1988年起成立「政府間氣候變遷專門委員會」並啟動氣候治理談判，陸續於1992年及1997年通過《聯合國氣候變遷綱要公約》與《京都議定書》兩項協議，是現今全球應對此議題主要的兩項機制，透過每年召開締約方會議的方式進行協商，促進各締約方達成共識，提升全球節能減排的執行成效。 美國與中國的溫室氣體排放量在全球排名前二名，是已開發國家與開發中國家中具影響力的大國，故對氣候治理的立場與政策，成為影響全球節能減排成效的關鍵。然而由於氣候變遷議題涉及政治、經濟及安全利益，因此兩國對聯合國氣候治理機制所規範的「共同但有區別的責任原則」與減排份額規範的遵守，有各自的利益考量，在應對氣候變遷議題上，有衝突與摩擦，也有合作與實踐。 在聯合國所主導的氣候變遷治理機制中，美國與中國呈現競爭關係，但若跳脫此一機制，兩國反而能運用雙邊的交流協商，例如高層會談、簽署協議及戰略與經濟對話等平臺，進行雙邊合作達到自主的節能減排目標。從多邊的聯合國氣候談判機制與雙邊的交流分析，未來美中在應對氣候變遷議題上，仍將是既競爭又合作的關係。如果美國與中國能將現有積極進行雙邊合作立場推進到多邊的國際談判，減少已開發國家與開發中國家對氣候治理立場的分歧，那麼將能在國際氣候談判機制中發揮領導作用，促進新氣候協議的達成，對全球應對氣候變遷有極大的助益。 / Global climate change which has caused irreversible harm and become one of the important factors that affect international security, the United Nations set up Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change （IPCC） in 1988 has held talks since then. After that United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change（UNFCCC）and Kyoto Protocol（KP）were passed in 1992 and 1997 respectively, which are the world’s two main mechanisms to promote and enhance the implementation of effective emission reduction. The United States and China’s greenhouse gas emissions are the top two in the world and represent developed countries and developing countries. Their attitudes and policies of climate governance have become the key to the effective reduction in global greenhouse gas emissions. However, due to climate change issues related to political, economic and security interests, diffefent views on “common but differentiated responsibilities” and “responsibilities for emission reductions” give rise to both conflict and cooperation between the two countries. In the United Nations-led climate change governance mechanisms, the United States holds a competitive relationship with China. But outside the mechanisms, their bilateral consultations, such as high-level talks, agreements and U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue （S&ED） help them achieve reduction targets. In the future, the U.S.-China relations on the climate change issue will continue to be both competitive and cooperative. If they can modify their stances through climate governance, it will be able to play a leadership role in international climate negotiations and promote the new climate agreement to solve global climate change issues effectvely.