Worse than a monolith : alliance politics and problems of coercive diplomacy in Asia / Thomas J. Christensen.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 277-295) and index.

Growing pains : alliance formation and the road to conflict in Korea -- Alliance problems, signaling, and escalation of Asian conflict -- The benefits of communist alliance coordination and the continuing costs of U.S. alliance formation 1951-56 -- The Sino-Soviet split and problems for the United States in Asia, Europe, and Americas, 1956-64 -- From escalation in Vietnam to Sino-American rapprochement 1964-72 -- The fall and revival of coercive diplomacy : security partnerships and Sino-American relations, 1972-2009.

Print version record.

In brute-force struggles for survival, such as the two World Wars, disorganization and divisions within an enemy alliance are to one's own advantage. However, most international security politics involve coercive diplomacy and negotiations short of all-out war. Worse Than a Monolith demonstrates that when states are engaged in coercive diplomacy--combining threats and assurances to influence the behavior of real or potential adversaries--divisions, rivalries, and lack of coordination within the opposing camp often make it more difficult to prevent the onset of conflict, to prevent existing conlicts from escalating, and to negociate the end to those conflicts promptly.

English.

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