Soft balancing in the Indo-Asia-Pacific: complexity, threat and contending multilateral frameworks from ASEAN to the SCO

Abstract

This thesis investigates the use of regional organizations and soft balancing by great and middle powers in the Indo-Asia-Pacific vis-à-vis hegemonic or rising powers perceived as threatening, at the global and regional levels. It reviews the existing literature on soft balancing and comes to the conclusion that it deserves to be ranked among the main alignment strategies. Soft balancing is a safer, more subtle, and an indirect alternative to hard balancing, minimizing the possibility of counter-reaction from the state against which it has been mobilized.

Date of Award	15 Jun 2013
Original language	English
Supervisor	R. James Ferguson (Supervisor) & Rosita Dellios (Supervisor)