"Security in context (SiC)" - by CWP alum Min Ye

The twenty-first-century global arena is profoundly shaped by the intensifying US–China rivalry. While theories in the US, such as the Thucydides’ Trap and the Clash of Civilizations, forecast a prospective ‘Cold War II,’ many experts in China propound a ‘divided peace,’ advocating for the stable coexistence of dual powerhouses. Introducing a nuanced lens, the ‘Security in Context’ (SiC) approach argues for a more interconnected and multi-dimensional understanding of great power dynamics. This study dives into the practicalities of a SiC approach, examining key strategies including the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the Belt and Road Initiative, and the Free and Open Indo-Pacific Strategy. As we venture into the era of economic and technological decoupling, epitomized by measures like the Chip Act and Restrict Act, the paper suggests that the SiC framework remains central to deciphering the evolving US–China narrative, even in the face of burgeoning uncertainties.

Security in context (SiC): a novel theoretical and empirical approach to the US–China rivalry Min Ye Received 14 Oct 2022, Accepted 25 Jan 2024, Published online: 07 Feb 2024 https://doi.org/10.1080/00346764.2024.2312414

Min Ye is a Professor of International Relations at the Pardee School of Global Studies at Boston University.  Her research situates in the nexus between domestic and global politics and the intersection of economics and security, with a focus on China, India, and regional relations.

Her publications include The Belt, Road and Beyond: State-Mobilized Globalization in China 1998 — 2018 (Cambridge University Press, 2020), Diasporas and Foreign Direct Investment in China and India (Cambridge University Press, 2014), and The Making of Northeast Asia (with Kent Calder, Stanford University Press, 2010).  Among her journal articles, there are “Adapting or Atrophying: China’s Belt and Road after the Covid Pandemic,” (Asia Policy 24.1 2021), “Thucydides’s Trap, Clash of Civilizations or Divided Peace? Great Power Politics from TPP to BRI to FOIP” (JPWS 2, 2020); “Fragmentation and Mobilization: Domestic Politics of China’s Belt and Road Initiative” (JCC 28.119, 2019); “The Utility and Conditions of Diffusion by Diasporas: Exploring Foreign Direct Investment in China and India” (JEAS 12.2, 2016); “China and Competing Cooperation in Asia Pacific: TPP, RCEP and the New Silk Road” (Asian Security 11.3, 2015). In addition, she has published policy briefs on China’s BRI, nationalism, economic planning, Asian regionalism, and China-India comparison, etc.

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