CWP Alum Jessica Chen Weiss And Scott Kastner Talk 'War And Peace In The Taiwan Strait' On The NCUSCR Podcast
As tensions continue to rise between the People’s Republic of China and Taiwan, analysts and officials warn of a growing risk of military conflict, which could potentially draw in the United States. How worried should we be about a war in the Taiwan Strait?
Scott L. Kastner sheds new light on the prospects for cross-strait military conflict in his new book, War and Peace in the Taiwan Strait. He examines several key regional trends that have complex implications for stability, including deepening economic integration, the shifting balance of military power, uncertainty about the future of U.S. commitment, and domestic political changes in both the PRC and Taiwan. While the risks of conflict are real, they should not be exaggerated.
In an interview conducted by Jessica Chen Weiss on January 11, 2023, Scott Kastner argues that several distinct pathways could lead to the breakout of hostilities, yet war is not inevitable.
0:00-2:05 Introductions
2:05-7:45 Background on Taiwan
7:45-14:42 How can we avoid conflict while navigating U.S.-China relations?
14:42-20:08 The possibility of unification
20:08-25:00 What are Beijing’s challenges?
25:00-28:54 What is the future of Taiwan?
28:54-Avoiding tragedy
About the speakers: https://www.ncuscr.org/event/war-and-peace-taiwan-strait/
Find the transcript to this conversation here
Follow Jessica Chen Wiess on Twitter: @jessicacweiss
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Jessica Chen Weiss is the Michael J. Zak Professor for China and Asia-Pacific Studies in the Department of Government at Cornell University. From August 2021 to July 2022, she served as senior advisor to the Secretary's Policy Planning Staff at the U.S. State Department on a Council on Foreign Relations Fellowship for Tenured International Relations Scholars (IAF-TIRS). Weiss is the author of Powerful Patriots: Nationalist Protest in China’s Foreign Relations (Oxford University Press, 2014). Her research appears in International Organization, China Quarterly, International Studies Quarterly, Journal of Conflict Resolution, Security Studies, Journal of Contemporary China, and Review of International Political Economy, as well as in the New York Times, Foreign Affairs, Los Angeles Times, and Washington Quarterly. Weiss was previously an assistant professor at Yale University and founded FACES, the Forum for American/Chinese Exchange at Stanford University. Born and raised in Seattle, Washington, she received her Ph.D. from the University of California, San Diego in 2008, where her dissertation won the 2009 American Political Science Association Award for best dissertation in international relations, law and politics.
Scott L. Kastner is a Professor in the Department of Government and Politics, University of Maryland, College Park. He graduated from Cornell University (1995), and received his Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of California, San Diego (2003). Much of Kastner's research focuses on the international politics of East Asia, and he teaches classes on international relations, US-China relations, international political economy, and East Asia. He is author of War and Peace in the Taiwan Strait (Columbia University Press, 2022), China’s Strategic Multilateralism: Investing in Global Governance (with Margaret Pearson and Chad Rector, Cambridge University Press, 2019) and Political Conflict and Economic Interdependence across the Taiwan Strait and Beyond (Stanford University Press, 2009). His work has also appeared in journals such as International Security, Journal of Conflict Resolution, International Studies Quarterly, Comparative Political Studies, Security Studies, and Journal of Contemporary China.
Photo Credit: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ncuscr-interviews/id596056312?i=1000595319030
