Where Great Powers Meet: America & China in Southeast Asia

After the end of the Cold War, it seemed as if Southeast Asia would remain a geopolitically stable region within the American-led order for the foreseeable future. In the last two decades, however, the re-emergence of China as a major great power has called into question the geopolitical future of the region and raised the specter of renewed great power competition. As the eminent China scholar David Shambaugh explains in Where Great Powers Meet, the United States and China are engaged in a broad-gauged and global competition for power. While this competition ranges across the entire world, it is centered in Asia. In this book, Shambaugh focuses on the critical sub-region of Southeast Asia. The United States and China constantly vie for position and influence across this enormously significant area--and the outcome of this contest will do much to determine whether Asia leaves the American orbit after seven decades and falls into a new Chinese sphere of influence. Just as importantly, to the extent that there is a global "power transition" occurring from the US to China, the fate of Southeast Asia will be a good indicator. Presently, both powers bring important assets to bear in their competition. The United States continues to possess a depth and breadth of security ties, soft power, and direct investment across the region that empirically outweigh China's. For its part, China has more diplomatic influence, much greater trade, and geographic proximity. In assessing the likelihood of a regional power transition, Shambaugh examines how ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations) and its member states maneuver and the degree to which they align with one or the other power.

Table of Contents:
Dedication Preface Chapter 1: Sino-American Competition in Southeast Asia Chapter 2: China's Legacies in Southeast Asia Chapter 3: American Legacies in Southeast Asia Chapter 4: China's Contemporary Roles in Southeast Asia Chapter 5: America's Contemporary Roles in Southeast Asia Chapter 6: Navigating Between the Giants: ASEAN'S Agency Chapter 7: The Future of International Relations in Southeast Asia Index

About the Author :
David Shambaugh is Gaston Sigur Professor of Asian Studies, Political Science, & International Affairs and the founding Director of the China Policy Program in the Elliott School of International Affairs at George Washington University. He is an internationally recognized authority and award-winning author on contemporary China and the international relations of Asia. An active public intellectual and frequent commentator in the international media, he serves on numerous editorial boards, and has been a consultant to governments, research institutions, foundations, universities, corporations, banks, and investment funds. As an author, Professor Shambaugh has published more than 30 books and 300 articles.

Review :
David Shambaugh's Where Great Powers Meet is a fine contribution to a spate of recent books focusing on China, Southeast Asia, and the US. His work is arguably the most policy and foreign policy (narrowly defined) oriented. The book provides food for thought for countries elsewhere as they manage relations with the two competing great powers while protecting their own national interests. Highly recommended. Lower- and upper-division undergraduates. Graduate students, faculty, and professionals. General readers. Shambaugh's book makes a very important contribution on this critical issue in Australia's neighbourhood... and should be required reading for all Asia-watchers. What does great power rivalry mean? David Shambaugh provides an engaging and readable account of how the US-China competition is playing out in its Southeast Asian epicenter. One could not ask for a more thoughtful and experienced guide to this fraught relationship. This timely book on Southeast Asia by a leading American Asia specialist belongs on the desk of every senior US official involved with foreign policy and national security. As US-China rivalry intensifies, the strategic significance of Southeast Asia is also shooting upward. In recent decades the region's economic vibrancy and cooperative relationships have made it a global success story. Now its geographic location is assuming ever greater importance. This book explains why. Deeply researched, it is loaded with background information and astute assessments that should inform the thinking of all those concerned about the future role of the United States in a rapidly changing world. Distinguished China scholar David Shambaugh has produced a timely and well-conceived treatment of the battle for influence between the United States and China that is raging across Southeast Asia. With firsthand accounts and deep insights, he has provided a deeply incisive and troubling narrative of a struggle that too often tilts towards Beijing. Current, deeply relevant and powerfully presented, Shambaugh's book lands like a piece of ordnance in a firefight — with a big blast. A must read for anyone seeking to understand the contest for primacy playing out in Southeast Asia. Where Great Powers Meet is about the New Great Game — Sino-American competition in Southeast Asia. David Shambaugh has combined his deep understanding of China, experience in US government with his new immersion in ASEAN to produce a perceptive, balanced and comprehensive study on this dynamic rivalry. He has succinctly captured the nuances in the thinking and responses of the ASEAN states. This book is essential reading for those who wish to make sense of the changing geopolitics of Southeast Asia. Blending historical context with an incisive analysis of current developments and policy prescriptions, David Shambaugh's new book should be read by anyone — from academia or the policy world — who seeks to understand Southeast Asia's crucial role in shaping US-China relations and the 21st century world order. An eye-opening survey of a volatile, crucially important region and a must-read for students of geopolitics. Shambaugh's fresh eyes are reason enough to read Where Great Powers Meet, as they yield equally fresh observations and arguments. The authoritative empirical work comparing Chinese and American influence and weaknesses in the region.