China’s Strategies under Neo-Realist Paradigm to Deter US in Asia

Abstract

China is now positioned to pose a potential threat to the United States and can challenge the US’s unipolar dominance in the advent of Multi-polarity in the next millennium. This paper thus seeks to explore the complex systems of regional dynamics in Asia in a situation where China is a threat to this current world order. This study employs a neorealist theoretical framework in assessing China’s approach to managing change in the international order as much as it seeks to challenge the hegemonic status of the United States in Asia. Since political power occupies a central place in world politics, the first stage of this study is the detailed theoretical analysis of neorealism. To analyze China’s geopolitical desires and strategic planning, this paper examines China’s increasing military, economic, and diplomatic operations. This research also looks at how the United States responds to Chinese ascendancy; more so, it focuses on how actors within the regional structure have shifted their strategies to engage or counter China. These findings bring more context into the shift of global power by revealing a vast array of relations between the region's countries: allies, competitors, and the balance of power.