This book offers an assessment of China's assertive foreign policy behavior with a special
focus on Chinese policies in the South China Sea (SCS). By providing a detailed account of the
events in the SCS and by analyzing power dynamics in the region it identifies the driving
forces behind China's assertive foreign policy. Considering China's power on a domestic as well
as an international level it examines a number of different sources of hard and soft power
including military economics geopolitics and domestic legitimacy. The author demonstrates
that Chinese assertiveness in the SCS can be explained not only by increases in China's power
but also by effective reactions to other actors' foreign policy changes. The book will appeal
to scholars in international relations especially those interested in a better understanding
of South China Sea developments China's political power and foreign policy and East Asian
international affairs.
