Assesses post-Cold War changes in Asia through an examination of three vital security dyads. Although much of the world reaped a "peace dividend" with the end of the Cold War, Asia has seen little reduction either in tensions or in military spending. This is mainly because three Cold War era conflicts - those dividing China and Taiwan, North and South Korea, and India and Pakistan--remain unresolved. Other regional powers, as well as the United States, continue to be concerned about these volatile disputes. North Korea's nuclear and long-range missile development, China's opposition to Taiwan's moves toward independence, and Pakistan's longstanding dispute with India have all received increasing media attention of late. This is the first volume to use a common approach to examine post-Cold War changes in these three dyads. Through these case studies, this book details the evolution of each country's security policy and its changing mix of alliances. It analyzes U.S. interests and discusses how the likely character of U.S. intervention affects the strategic calculations of the states in conflict.
Through this mechanism, the reader gains a better understanding of the three conflicts, as well as how the conflicts interact within the overall Asian security system. All three of the dominant theoretical frameworks of international relations--neo-realism, neo-liberalism, and constructivism--offer crucial insights into this complicated situation.