國立臺灣大學政治科學論叢

Abstract / Chinese PDF Download

In a world suffering from the incremental pressure caused by the transition of power between the United States and China, the behaviour of the rising power is becoming a significant issue both theoretically and practically. This paper attempts to explain what policies the rising power chooses to have towards different small countries and why it adopts them. We organize the factors based on the competitive perspectives of power and culture into one framework, and then test the hypotheses by analyzing the asymmetric interactions that happened during the power transition period between the Turkic Khanates vs. Sui-Tang China. The policies of Sui-Tang China implemented on the oasis city-states in Serindia (Xiyu) confirm the material logic: the power balance between the two giants determined the rising power’s strategic tendency when facing the hegemon, which then generated the keynote of its policies for treating the small countries. However, the hypothesis involving cultural affinity is denied by the most-similar sub-cases of the Tarim states and Gaochang. Our findings suggest that, before China overtakes the US, it will keep a defensive strategic posture towards the US and adopt moderate policies towards lesser powers.