Sino-American Crisis Management and the U.S.-Japan Alliance

Swaine, Michael D.

Book

Sino-American Crisis Management and the U.S.-Japan Alliance

An assessment of the degree to which Washington and Beijing are willing or able to implement crisis management principles like maintaining direct channels of communication and preserving military flexibility.

By Michael D. Swaine

Published on Jan 29, 2009

Source: In The Japan-U.S. Alliance and China-Taiwan Relations

An examination of “political-military crisis” and “crisis management” in the context of Sino-U.S. relations. Swaine identifies several key principles of successful crisis management: among them, maintain direct channels of communication and send signals that are clear, specific, and detailed; preserve limited objectives and limited means on behalf of such objectives, and sacrifice unlimited goals; and preserve military flexibility, escalate slowly, and respond symmetrically (in a “tit-for-tat” manner). It assess the degree to which Washington and Beijing are willing or able to implement these principles, and examines the difficulties involved in applying such principles to a Sino-U.S. crisis over Taiwan in particular. Swaine concludes with some observations on the implications of this analysis for the U.S.-Japan alliance and Japanese crisis behavior and offers some recommendations.

About the Author

Michael D. Swaine

Former Senior Fellow, Asia Program

Swaine was a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and one of the most prominent American analysts in Chinese security studies.

Recent Work

Other
What Kind of Global Order Should Washington and Beijing Strive For?
- Michael D. Swaine
Commentary
A Smarter U.S. Strategy for China in Four Steps
- Michael D. Swaine

North America United States East Asia China Taiwan Japan Political Reform Security Military Foreign Policy

Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.

More Work from Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

Commentary
Emissary
The UN Security Council Is Deadlocked on Climate. New Members Have a Path Forward.
They face an uphill climb, but they could draw on a strategy that other diplomats have used in the past.
Shana Tabak, Alejandro Martin Rodriguez
Commentary
Strategic Europe
The Speech Ursula von der Leyen Can’t Deliver
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is about to give her annual address on the state of the EU. Here’s what she won’t—but should—say.
Rym Momtaz
Article
The Iran War’s Climate, Environmental, and Human Security Fallout
Understanding the climatic pain points is necessary for policymakers hoping to minimize the war’s negative environmental consequences.
Alejandro Martin Rodriguez, Joy Arkeh, Sarah Yerkes
Commentary
Diwan
On AI, Cairo Plays China and the U.S. Off Against Each Other
Huawei pushed hard to enter the Egyptian data centers market, until the Americans made a better offer.
Angie Omar
Article
How Europe’s 2027 Elections Could Test EU Governance
Radical-right parties are expected to do well in upcoming elections in four of the EU's biggest member states. If successful, they could prevent the union from addressing key challenges ahead.
Stefan Lehne

More Work from Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

circles of chairs in a large, formal room

Commentary

Emissary

The UN Security Council Is Deadlocked on Climate. New Members Have a Path Forward.

They face an uphill climb, but they could draw on a strategy that other diplomats have used in the past.

Shana Tabak, Alejandro Martin Rodriguez

Commentary

Strategic Europe

The Speech Ursula von der Leyen Can’t Deliver

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is about to give her annual address on the state of the EU. Here’s what she won’t—but should—say.

Rym Momtaz

Photo of black smoke rising from an Iranian oil facility after an airstrike.

Article

The Iran War’s Climate, Environmental, and Human Security Fallout

Understanding the climatic pain points is necessary for policymakers hoping to minimize the war’s negative environmental consequences.

Alejandro Martin Rodriguez, Joy Arkeh, Sarah Yerkes

Commentary

Diwan

On AI, Cairo Plays China and the U.S. Off Against Each Other

Huawei pushed hard to enter the Egyptian data centers market, until the Americans made a better offer.

Angie Omar

Article

How Europe’s 2027 Elections Could Test EU Governance

Radical-right parties are expected to do well in upcoming elections in four of the EU's biggest member states. If successful, they could prevent the union from addressing key challenges ahead.

Stefan Lehne