US–China commercial rivalry, great war and middle powers
Bora Jeong and
Hoon Lee
Additional contact information
Bora Jeong: University of North Texas, USA
Hoon Lee: Texas Tech University, USA
International Area Studies Review, 2021, vol. 24, issue 2, 135-148
Abstract:
This paper examines whether the recent trade war between the US and China would lead to a great power war. In so doing, we rely on two theoretical frameworks, mercantilism and power transition theory, that are likely to link trade war to a military confrontation. Evidence shows that the trade war per se is not a sufficient condition for an all-out war between the US and China. Unlike mercantilists argue, first, we identify the importance of domestic coalitions before trade war being escalated to a military conflict. Second, we find that trade war as economic statecraft is a viable means to suppress a challenger’s capability, which may stop or delay the power transition process. The findings provide implications for middle power countries where strategic choices are required between the two major powers.
Keywords: US–China trade war; mercantilism; power transition theory; US trade policy; middle power (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)
Downloads: (external link)
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/22338659211018322 (text/html)
Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.
Export reference: BibTeX
RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan)
HTML/Text
Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:intare:v:24:y:2021:i:2:p:135-148
DOI: 10.1177/22338659211018322
Access Statistics for this article
More articles in International Area Studies Review from Center for International Area Studies, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies
Bibliographic data for series maintained by SAGE Publications (sagediscovery@sagepub.com).