US-China Competition: Implications for South Asian Security
Warisha Rashid2022, MS Thesis
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Abstract
This thesis encompasses South Asia as an area of interest mainly focusing on the Indo-Pak conflict and its impact on the regional as well as global arena. Furthermore, a non-experimental research design is used while using neo-realism and power transition theory as a theoretical framework. The thesis focuses mainly on China's policies and the United States' abrupt inward turn which are both the consequence of factors represented in the variables. The critical independent variable is patriotism, which, in combination with China's and the United States' power trajectories, defines how their relationship will unfold in the next years. Hence, there is an ample reason to expect a soft landing as the world evolves from unipolarity to multipolarity. It has been about a few years since the United States and China saw their relationship deteriorate due to an increase in hostilities and a decrease in collaboration. Increased disagreement and strain in US-China security relations may be unavoidable. The United States and China are in the midst of a power transition that has significant ramifications for the balance of power in South and East Asia and for their respective national security objectives. As the power transfer progresses, it is likely that a great power struggle will increase emerging as a new cold war.
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