“Not Just Pawns On A Chessboard”: Exploring Challenges and Nuances To Traditional Explanations of Southeast Asian Countries Hedging Between the US And China
Abstract/Contents
- Abstract
- Is hedging between the US and the People’s Republic of China (PRC) the primary driver of Southeast Asian countries’ behavior in relation to the two? At the center of US and PRC strategic interests in the Indo-Pacific, from the South China Sea to the Strait of Malacca, Southeast Asia is a dynamic region becoming increasingly vital to both great powers. Washington currently buys into the narrative that Southeast Asian countries, caught in the middle of outsized US-PRC competition and the risks of aligning too closely with one side, are constantly hedging between both to maximize benefits and avoid hostilities. Current literature that has informed US policymakers’ perspectives have applied realist assumptions to traditional hedging theory to explain that Southeast Asian countries are behaving as small states reacting to threatening imbalances of power presented by larger rivals and primarily guided by a need to ensure security against both fronts. This thesis seeks to paint a more complete and nuanced picture of the forces at work driving Southeast Asian countries’ policymaking, moving away from viewing the region through hegemonic lenses. Through two case studies—the negative reaction to the AUKUS pact from Indonesia and Malaysia and defense cooperation between the US and the Philippines and Singapore—this thesis uses historical, discourse, and interview analysis to demonstrate that significant confounding factors exist that drive Southeast Asian countries to act in ways that may seem to “hedge” towards the US or the PRC, but are actually independent from security considerations vis a vis great power competition. This thesis finds that Southeast Asian countries, exemplified by the four examined in these case studies, exercise agency and operate on their own agendas with respect to their specific contexts—including colonial histories, the Non-Aligned Movement, and fundamental principles such as pragmatism and Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) centrality—both in cases when they act in alignment and misalignment with hedging theory. These findings have serious implications for how the US approaches relations with Southeast Asian countries and crafting policies that will resonate with the region during the “Asian century”.
Description
| Type of resource | text |
|---|---|
| Publication date | July 19, 2023 |
Creators/Contributors
| Author | Lee, Sean |
|---|---|
| Advisor | Cohen, David |
| Advisor | Vardi, Gil-li |
| Department | Center for International Security and Cooperation |
| Degree granting institution | Stanford University |
Subjects
| Subject | Southeast Asia |
|---|---|
| Subject | ASEAN |
| Subject | Indonesia |
| Subject | Malaysia |
| Subject | Philippines |
| Subject | Singapore |
| Subject | Hedging |
| Subject | United States |
| Subject | China |
| Subject | Great powers |
| Subject | International relations |
| Genre | Text |
| Genre | Thesis |
Bibliographic information
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- License
- This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license (CC BY).
Preferred citation
- Preferred citation
- Lee, S. (2023). “Not Just Pawns On A Chessboard”: Exploring Challenges and Nuances To Traditional Explanations of Southeast Asian Countries Hedging Between the US And China. Stanford Digital Repository. Available at https://purl.stanford.edu/rz322qx9907. https://doi.org/10.25740/rz322qx9907.
Collection
Stanford University, Center for International Security and Cooperation, Interschool Honors Program in International Security Studies, Theses
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- Contact
- seanklee@stanford.edu
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