Structural realism and Sino-United States relations: The case for a containment 'by stealth' strategy

Structural realism posits that America's unchallenged power will one day come to be balanced by a state or group of states. This will have the effect of limiting America's room for maneuver in the world and limit the amount of global goods that it provides. Many contend that China is the most likely state that will come to balance American power in the future. This thesis, therefore, examines what America should do so as to preclude China from ever balancing American power. Engagement alone will not preclude the rise of China and its ability to challenge America. Managing cross-Strait relations and Korean peninsular affairs in such a way that precludes Taiwan from being reincorporated with the Mainland and ensuring that the North Korean conventional military threat endures so that US forces remain deployed in Northeast Asia are essential to containing China by stealth and precluding its rise.