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China and Russia have grown progressively closer over the last two decades, yielding a China-Russia "axis" uniquely capable of challenging the United States and of revising key aspects of the international order. Although the scholarly literature has offered detailed descriptions and various ad hoc explanations of this trend, the Sino-Russian bilateral relationship has been the subject of very little scrutiny using rigorous theory, which has precluded the formation of logically coherent and empirically supported explanations for increasing China-Russia cooperation. Moreover, the cooperative post-Cold War trend in the bilateral relationship is puzzling for each of the major paradigms of international relations theory: realism, constructivism and liberalism. This volume brings together leading IR scholars from various theoretical perspectives, as well as theoretically-informed experts in Chinese and Russian foreign policy. The chapters develop and apply nuanced theoretical arguments to derive testable hypotheses for the cooperative trend in China-Russia relations. In contrast to existing scholarship, the book offers generalizable insights that both improve our understanding of a crucially important contemporary case, while also advancing IR theory in substantial ways.
List of contents
Chapter 1. Introduction: International Relations Theory and the Puzzle of China-Russia Alignment.- Part I: Typological Theory and Description of China-Russia Relations.-Chapter 2. Measuring China-Russia Strategic Cooperation.- Chapter 3. China, Russia and the United States: Balance of Power or National Narcissism?.- Chapter 4. Partnering Up in the New Cold War? China-Russia Relations in the Post-Cold War Era.-Part II: Deductive Application of Theory to China-Russia Relations.- Chapter 5. China's and Russia's New Status Relationship.- Chapter 6. China and Russia contra Liberal Hegemony.- Chapter 7. The Paradox of Sino-Russian Partnership: Global Normative Alignment and Regional Ontological Insecurity.- Part III: Inductive Theory Building from China-Russia Relations.- Chapter 8. The U.S. Factor in China's Successful Reassurance of Russia.- Chapter 9. Bargaining, Nuclear Weapons and Alliance Choices in U.S.-China-Russia Relations.- Chapter 10. Sino-Russian Logrolling & the Future of Great Power Competition.- Part IV: Prescriptions and Predictions for U.S.-China-Russia Relations.- Chapter 11. America's Growing Agreement on Countering Russia-China Challenges.- Chapter 12. Conclusion Explaining the China-Russia Partnership.
About the author
Brandon Yoder is Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in the School of Politics and International Relations at the Australian National University, Canberra, Australia.
