In This Story
Originally published on November 29, 2020
As China continues its rise as a global superpower鈥攁nd in doing so, threatening American hegemony鈥攖he communist nation has become an inescapable discussion topic among U.S. strategists. , who teaches 鈥済rand strategy鈥 at the , has been awarded a grant to write a book discussing China鈥檚 rise.
鈥淭his award will help me further conduct my fieldwork in Japan and Southeast Asia when the pandemic is over,鈥 Zhang said. 鈥淎nd winning the award itself also indicates the importance of the 鈥楥hina question鈥 for both academic and policy reasons. That is, what is the rationale behind China鈥檚 coercive actions, what does China鈥檚 coercion say about rising powers trajectory, and is it generalizable?鈥
Not to mention 鈥渨hat are the implications for the United States, as well as the rest of the world?鈥 聽she added.
Zhang鈥檚 book will discuss how, when, and why China uses coercion, and what tools the state seeks to employ. Since the early 1990s, China has used coercion to address various national security issues, such as territorial disputes and arms sales to Taiwan. These actions, however, have damaging effects on the Communist Party鈥檚 reputation. Analysis of China鈥檚 behavior has not been answered systematically, something Zhang hopes to correct.
Zhang鈥檚 funding is provided by the , which for more than 70 years has partnered with the U.S. Department of Energy, as well as other government agencies, to advance the nation鈥檚 top priorities.
Schar School fact: The lifetime value of active grants currently awarded to Schar School faculty is $25 million, which places the school near the top of its peer institutions.