Institute of Malaysian and International Studies
2024 ANU CHINA IN THE WORLD FORUM
You Can’t Eat Your Cake and Have It Too: The Impossible Trinity in Middle-State Alignment Choices
Cheng-Chwee Kuik
Professor of International Relations National University of Malaysia
As US-China rivalry intensifies and uncertainties grow, the alignment choices of the “middle states” are becoming the central issue for International Relations scholars and policymakers.
In explaining alignment behaviour of the “middle states” in US-China rivalry, Professor Kuik goes beyond the commonly-cited factors, including regime types, economic interests and strategic autonomy, and underlines the significance of ruling elites’ politically-acceptable trade-offs embedded in their pathways of legitimation.
