- Collection:
- Atlanta University and Clark Atlanta University Theses and Dissertations
- Title:
- An Analysis of the Strategic Balance between China's Regional Hegemony and the United States' Influence in the South China Sea: 1974-2016, 2019
- Creator:
- Omar, Eslam
- Date of Original:
- 2019-12
- Subject:
- Degrees, Academic
Dissertations, Academic - Location:
- United States, Georgia, Fulton County, Atlanta, 33.749, -84.38798
- Medium:
- theses
dissertations - Type:
- Text
- Format:
- application/pdf
- Description:
- This study examines the strategic balance between China’s regional hegemony and the United States’ influence in the South China Sea from 1974 to 2016. The study was based upon the premise that a competition between China and the United States over national interests and regional hegemony occurs in the region. China has sought to consolidate and expand the territory under its control by utilizing its naval power and creating military installations on previously unoccupied islands while asserting itself as a regional hegemon. The United States fears a regional instability that could threaten freedom of navigation and sea lane security as a result of China’s hegemonic activities. The United States also fears that, to the extent China succeeds in becoming a regional hegemon, its status as a great power would be undermined. The United States responded by expanding its influence vis-à-vis China through securing power and creating strategic alliances and partnerships with claimant states and external powers like Japan, Australia, and South Korea. The United States also responded by enhancing its military presence in the region, presenting itself as a deterring and balancing power. A historical and document analysis approach were used to analyze data regarding how the United States exerted influence in response to China’s hegemonic activities in the South China Sea. The researcher found out that threats to national interests, the shortcomings of diplomacy in conflict resolution, and the prevailing need for military power were key components that shape the strategic balance between the two states and their power struggle. The researcher also found out that the United States has been successful in deterring further encroachment by China and balancing against China’s military strategies. The United States’ deterring and balancing strategy is facilitated by claimant states’ use of an inclusive regionalism structure to incorporate greater participation of outside powers in their struggle with China. The conclusions drawn from the findings suggest that the strategic balance occurs as a result of a power struggle between China and the United States with the primary objective being the maximal accumulation of power to attain or maintain regional supremacy.
Date of award: 2019-12
Degree type: dissertation
Degree name: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Granting institution: Clark Atlanta University
Department: Department of Political Science
Advisor: Young, Kurt - Metadata URL:
- http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12322/cau.td:2019_omar_eslam
- Holding Institution:
- Atlanta University Center Robert W. Woodruff Library
- Rights:
-
