Honors Theses

Date of Award

2013

Document Type

Undergraduate Thesis

Department

Croft Institute for International Studies

First Advisor

Susan Allen

Relational Format

Dissertation/Thesis

Abstract

In 2001, John Mearsheimer made a prediction that according to his theory of offensive realism, if Chinese military power continued to grow, the US would increase its military presence in East Asia in order to contain growth of Chinese power. Now in 2013, US military presence is slowly rising, appearing to prove Mearsheimer’s prediction. Therefore the question that needs to be asked is can offensive realism explain the current status of US-Chinese relations. By examining the changes in Chinese military developments by comparing unit sizes and amounts to the changes in military weapons developments, an integration rate can be formed to show how fast the Chinese military is modernizing. This rate is then compared to trends of US foreign policy since 2001 to determine that although there is a period in which the Iraq War has an effect on great power politics between the US and China, but under normal circumstances, offensive realism can be used to describe and predict the future of US-Chinese relations.

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