Date Thesis Awarded
5-2023
Access Type
Honors Thesis -- Access Restricted On-Campus Only
Degree Name
Bachelors of Arts (BA)
Department
International Relations
Advisor
Marcus Holmes
Committee Members
Dennis Smith
Rani Mullen
Michael Butler
Hiroshi Kitamura, Eric Brown, and Giuseppe Paparella
Abstract
The bilateral economic relationship between the United States and the People’s Republic of China (PRC) is the largest and most important worldwide. Yet rising geopolitical and geoeconomic tensions and the Covid-19 pandemic have pushed both governments to pursue policies aimed at decreasing mutual dependency while building self-sufficiency. But the tension that stresses the US-China relationship today goes much deeper than simply a dispute over supply chain security, trade imbalances, or the relations between American presidents and their Chinese counterparts. Instead, the international community is faced with the complex and multifaceted issues that have surfaced from China’s rapid rise as a Great Power and its determination and ability to contest and re-shape the international order in its favor. This is the “China Challenge” and it represents one of the most potent challenges the United States has faced since the end of the Cold War. As such, this thesis aims to propose a coherent geoeconomic strategy that (i) ensures US and allied economic growth; (i) effectively competes with China for world influence and leadership; (iii) and maximizes the opportunity for world peace is thus of great importance to US policymakers.
Recommended Citation
Hawley, Bennett, "Threads of Continuity: Investigating the Historical Context of the China Challenge and Its Implications for Current US Grand Strategy" (2023). Undergraduate Honors Theses. William & Mary. Paper 2058.
https://scholarworks.wm.edu/honorstheses/2058
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