Document Type

Research Report

Publication Date

12-2021

Keywords

United States, China, Cold War, hegemony, South China Sea, Western, colonial, Cold War

Disciplines

International Relations | Political Science

Abstract

“Let China sleep. For when she wakes, the world will tremble.” This quote attributed to Napoleon Bonaparte has foreshadowed the international political climate of the twenty-first century. Throughout history, great empires and nations that were sure of their power could not fathom their eventual decline until it came knocking at their door. In many ways, the U.S is facing one of these wake-up calls. Its likely successor? The People’s Republic of China. From trade and technology wars all the way to what many consider the “New Cold War” in the South China Sea: the U.S has met its economic match. Contemporary China has attributes that have been historically associated with rising powers—for example, expanding their influence in parts of Asia and securing their borders to ensure dominance and compliance over surrounding Asian countries. Historically, regional hegemony is a method used by the United States and many other Western colonizing powers throughout their history. Hence, it's only reasonable that “up-and-coming” China would be doing the same. This paper aims to analyze the question, ‘How is China’s presence in the South China Sea a test to U.S hegemony?’ By using realist theory of hegemony and power transition theory, this paper aims to analyze the implications of China’s presence in the South China Sea. There is a staggering amount of evidence that as China acts more like a rising power, through its ever-increasing domineering presence in the South China Sea, the U.S reacts like a threatened state afraid of losing its power and sphere of influence in the international global order. In conclusion, the U.S has to stop approaching China with a Cold War mindset and come to terms that in an ever-advancing world, the multipolar global order is inevitable.

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