Question 1 – Critical Review Essay

Section 1

P1: North Korea’s collapse would increase the chances of confrontation between the Chinese and the U.S.

P2: The core mission of the U.S. is to prevent an outright invasion attempt on Taiwan. Hence, if China decided to conquer Taiwan, the U.S. would have to intervene, and conflict will arise.

P3: China’s recent claims of the sovereignty of states as part of the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) could lead to a confrontation at sea that could escalate into a land war.

P4: The U.S. needs a wide range of advanced military capabilities to deter the increasingly capable People’s Liberation Army (PLA).

P5: Apart from military deterrence, the U.S. could supplement other forms of dissuasion, resistance, and persuasion to deter any conflict.

P6: The mutual dependency between the SINO-U.S. and the world can serve as an immensely powerful deterrent, in effect a form of mutually assured economic destruction.

P7: Greater reliance on U.S. diplomacy to accommodate China’s interests could deter conflict and build trust.

Section 2

Part 1:

Based on the above argument, the premises state all the trigger points that will lead to a conflict between China and the U.S. One of the triggers will be if China decides or has the intention to claim a region to be part of them, this will lead to the U.S. intervening to prevent China from gaining air and sea dominance in the region. As the PLA capabilities are increasing rapidly, the U.S. needs to have a wider range of advanced military capabilities. Hence, to prevent an arms race, it is better to have other forms of deterrence than plainly using military power.

Other types of deterrence include dissuasion, resistance, and persuasion. Also, by having communications and interactions with China, it will build up the rapport and relationship between the two countries. Moreover, China and the U.S.’s economies are inter-related, this mutual dependency is another form of powerful deterrent. This is because, with both countries’ economic closely linked to each other, neither country will risk a conflict because they would not want to harm their own economy. Therefore, the argument is valid.

Part 2:

P1: North Korea’s collapse would increase the chances of confrontation between the Chinese and the U.S.

P1 is True. There will be an increase in chances of confrontation between the Chinese and the U.S. if North Korea is to collapse. This is because China would not allow an unprovoked attack on North Korea while on the other hand, U.S .president might authorize military action against North Korea. Hence, if the U.S. tries to attack North Korea, China may step in to prevent the attack and result in a confrontation between both parties (Macgregor, 2018).

P2: The core mission of the U.S. is to prevent an outright invasion attempt on Taiwan. Hence, if China decided to conquer Taiwan, the US would have to intervene, and conflict will arise.

P2 is True. According to the article, the U.S. stated that if China wants to coerce Taiwan by any chance, it is posting an immense threat to the peace of East Asia. Also, the growing power of China’s military makes Taiwan very vulnerable. Hence, the U.S continues to sell arms to Taiwan to give the Taiwanese a sufficient self-defense capability. Therefore, if there is an armed conflict between China and Taiwan, the U.S. would step in and intervene, resulting in a conflict between China and the U.S. (Carpenter, 2018).

P3:  China’s recent claims of the sovereignty of states as part of the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) could lead to a confrontation at sea that could escalate into a land war.

P3 is True. China’s expansion in the South China Sea triggered many countries in South East Asia and especially the U.S. In addition, General Chang Wan Quan said that China would not compromise, the concession of trade in the fight for what they called China’s territorial sovereignty (Smith & Eisenman, 2014) This proved that China would do anything to fight for the territory even if it leads to war.

P4: The US needs a wide range of advanced military capabilities to deter the increasingly capable People’s Liberation Army (PLA).

P4 is True. China’s armed forces are on constant evolution, and it is modernizing faster than many analysts expected since 2007. It was also mentioned that the artillery, air defense, and land-attack weapons that China has, it can out-range anything that the U.S. can deploy (Marcus, 2018). Therefore, the U.S needs a wider range of advanced military capabilities to deter the increasingly capable PLA.

P5: Apart from military deterrence, the US could supplement other forms of dissuasion, resistance, and persuasion to deter any kind of conflict.

P5 is True. Ever since the Cold War, the US has a deterrence strategy where it was aimed to prevent aggression by the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and China. The approach for the U.S. to deter the conflicts is by involving a range of activities such as regarding political, diplomatic, economical with China (Press, 1997)

P6: The mutual dependency between the SINO-U.S. and the world can serve as an immensely powerful deterrent, in effect a form of mutually assured economic destruction.

P6 is True. There is mutual economic dependence between China and the U.S. Hence, both countries will avoid fighting each other to keep both their economy and the global economic system in a steady-state (Holmes, 2011).

P7: Greater reliance on US diplomacy to accommodate China’s interests could deter conflict and build trust.

P7 is True. As the mentioned article, the China-US bilateral relations take a unique and influential position in China’s overall diplomacy. The priority of China’s foreign policy is to maintain and promote the healthy and steady development of China-US relations (Kai & Zhao, 2012). By building up the relationship between the countries, it will increase trust and thus, deterring the conflict.

Based on the above mentioned, the validity of the article is valid. Therefore, as the premises are all true, the argument mentioned above can be deemed as sound.

Question 2 – Research Essay

Realism

Realism tends toward a more pragmatic and actual view of a situation. It is a set of related theories of international relations that emphasizes the role of the state, national interest, and military power in world politics (Bell, n.d.).

There are mainly two different types of realist theory; one is ‘Classical realism’ developed in the 1940s and the other ‘Structural realism’ also known as, ‘Neorealism’ established in 1979 by Kenneth Waltz (Jepson, 2012).

There are three critical concepts under Realism in the following paragraphs.

The first concept is that the ‘state’ is the most important actor in international relations. Realists see the system as a state-dominated one. In 1648, under the Treaty of Westphalia, many European powers came together to end various wars. It was in this meeting that they agreed to the idea of state-sovereignty, where no outside actor can dictate the domestic or foreign policies of another state (International Relations, n.d.).

The second concept is that ‘The state is a unitary and rational actor.’ Realists believed that a state speaks with one voice, and the single actor must be capable of identifying goals, preferences, and determining their relative importance. Then the state is also capable of engaging cost-benefit analysis and choosing optimal strategies for achieving its goals (International Relations, n.d.).

The third concept is Realism is a system that leads to a competition for power, where a state’s objective is security and power. There are two sides to competition for power, one is defensive, and one is offensive (International Relations, n.d.).

On the defensive side, Anarchy compels states to arm themselves to self-defense. However, the acquisition of arms is itself a provocative act. Other countries must respond in kind or risk attack or destruction. This response leaves the first state no better off than it was before, so it must continue building and acquiring even better weapons to counter the threat. Then the other states respond in kind, and this ends up in a vicious cycle that will never end. This leads to arms racing and arms balancing behavior on the part of states. States with good and kind leaders will engage in the same kind of behavior as selfish and evil leaders because they exist in the same international environment. Thus, to realists, the anarchical system forces the state to be concerned with issues of power to survive. Also, Realism states that ‘international relations are essentially conflictual’.

One of the reasons that some structural realists see the system as one that leads to the conflict has to do with the notion of anarchy. The world is an anarchical system; this means that there is no overarching power controlling the behaviors of actors within the state system. The system is in anarchy; each state must fend for themselves against others. Therefore, when one country improves its security, it will leave the other countries insecure and strengthen its security. This can, in turn, lead to arms races and different types of hostile interactions (International Relations, n.d.).

On the offensive side, states will try to accumulate power. When there is a power imbalance, the likelihood of war is possible, since the powerful state can attack a weaker state, without much penalty, if any at all (International Relations, n.d.).

However, the idea of power imbalance is not merely limited to military power; economic power also enters the equation. States whose economies are growing are also gaining power since economic strength often translates to power in the international system. Thus, realists pay attention to the state’s economy as it relates to power.

Thus, for realists, it is the balance of power as a system that will prevent wars; states that balance would be less likely to attack and fight on another. Realism in international relations is centered on this importance of power.

Idealism

Idealism is when you envision or see things in an ideal or perfect manner. Idealism aims at improving the course of international relations by eliminating war, hunger, inequality, tyranny, force, suppression, and violence from international relations. Idealism accepts the possibility of creating a world free from these evils using reason, science, and education (Wilson, 2014).

The Idealist Approach holds that old, ineffective, and harmful modes of behavior i.e., war, use of force, and violence should be abandoned in favor of new ways and means as determined by knowledge, reason, compassion, and self-restraint. It also advocates morality as the means for securing the desired objective of making the world an ideal world. It believes that by following morality and moral values in their relations, nations can not only ensure their development but also can help the world to eliminate war, inequality, despotism, tyranny, violence, and force (Dinesh, n.d.).

The main features of Idealism are listed in the following:

1. Human nature is essentially good and capable of good deeds in international relations.
2. Human welfare and the advancement of civilization are the concerns of all.
3. Bad human behavior is the product of a bad environment and bad institutions.
4. By reforming the environment, bad human behavior can be eliminated.
5. War represents the worst feature of relations.
6. By reforming international relations, war can be and should be eliminated.
7. Global efforts are needed to end war, violence, and tyranny from international relations.
8. The international community should work for eliminating such global instruments, features, and practices which lead to war.
9. International institutions committed to preserving international peace, international law and order should be developed for securing peace, prosperity, and development.

Thus, Idealists advocate morality as the means for securing the desired objective of making the world an ideal world. It believes that nations can secure their own development, eliminate war, violence, and fear by following morality and moral values in their relations.

The key differences between Idealism and Realism

1. Idealism causes you to see things in a very hopeful manner, shaping situations with your ideas. Realism, on the other hand, causes one to assess a situation as it is, without overt emotional involvement (Difference Between, n.d.).
2. Idealistic tend to be more positive when compared to realists, in how they perceive things and carry out tasks (Difference Between, n.d.).
3. When making a decision, relists are more goal-oriented and thorough than idealist, who may have a lofty ambition, but lack the clarity and focus on putting them into action in a feasible way (Difference Between, n.d.).

Realism applied to the study of International Relations

The New Arms Race between the U.S. and Russia is an example of how Realism is applied to the study of International Relations. It all started when U.S. President Donald Trump announced that the U.S. would withdraw from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty. The very next day, Russia followed suit and withdrew from the INF Treaty too (Lucas, 2019).

Withdrawing from the treaty meant that both the U.S. and Russia would be competing for power; this may lead to both countries being too overpower and influence them to attack other weaker countries. Hence, with the U.S. withdrawing from the treaty, it meant that they would start building up their nuclear weapon. Russia will be afraid that the U.S. will be too powerful with the increase in nuclear weapons and decided to follow suit. This is an example of Realism, where countries compete for power to make sure they are not of a disadvantage.

Idealism applied to the study of International Relations

ASEAN is an organization that demonstrates Idealism. ASEAN countries consist of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam. ASEAN was formed based on creating a common goal for all members to be able to help each other to achieve a better state (ASEAN, n.d.). ASEAN believes in creating a prosperous and peaceful community of Southeast Asian Nations using reason, science, and education. Hence, ASEAN is a perfect example of Idealism in the current world.