America's Taiwan Dilemma

Allies' Reactions and the Stakes for US Reputation

Michael a Hunzeker, Mark A Christopher

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English

Cambria Press
18 July 2025

Diplomacy; Warfare & defence

Cambria Rapid Communications in Conflict and Security Series (Editor: Thomas G. Mahnken; Founding Editor: Geoffrey R. H. Burn)

America's Taiwan Dilemma: Allies' Reactions and the Stakes for US Reputation offers a rigorous open-source analysis of how America's key allies-Japan, South Korea, and Australia-would respond to US intervention or inaction in a Taiwan conflict. If Beijing attempts to forcibly annex Taiwan, Washington's decisions will have far-reaching consequences for its credibility in East Asia and beyond. Yet, the long-term implications of these choices on America's alliances and global standing remain largely unexamined-until now.

Based on over 100 interviews with leading experts from Japan, South Korea, Australia, Taiwan, and the United States, this book provides unparalleled insight into how America's allies view the stakes in a Taiwan contingency. It captures, in their own words, their perspectives-sometimes contradictory but consistently pragmatic-as they grapple with their reliance on the United States as a distant security guarantor and their unease with an increasingly assertive China nearby.

The book identifies both common ground and divisions among allies, examining how domestic politics, threat perceptions, and regional dynamics shape their expectations of Washington. By analyzing these complexities, America's Taiwan Dilemma explores how US policies to deter China align-or conflict-with strategies to maintain its alliances in the Indo-Pacific.

Essential reading for policymakers, scholars, and security analysts, this book provides critical insights into the future of US alliances and credibility amid rising tensions across the Taiwan Strait, offering a roadmap for understanding America's role in shaping regional stability.

By: Michael a Hunzeker, Mark A Christopher
Imprint: Cambria Press
Dimensions: Height: 229mm, Width: 152mm, Spine: 13mm
Weight: 336g
ISBN: 9781638573531
ISBN 10: 1638573530
Pages: 248
Publication Date: 18 July 2025
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Michael A. Hunzeker is an Associate Professor at George Mason University's Schar School of Policy and Government, where he serves as the Director of the Program Faculty in Government and International Affairs and the Associate Director of the Center for Security Policy Studies. His research focuses on military strategy, defense reform, deterrence, and cross-Strait security issues. Mark A. Christopher is a nonresident fellow at the Atlantic Council's Global China Hub. He holds a bachelors degree from the Georgetown School of Foreign Service and an MPA from the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs. His writing has appeared in Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, the Jamestown Foundation's China Brief, Defense One, and the Wall Street Journal.

Reviews for America's Taiwan Dilemma: Allies' Reactions and the Stakes for US Reputation

""Michael Hunzeker and Mark Christopher have written the authoritative study about how Japan, South Korea, and Australia would think about a conflict in the Taiwan Strait. Their painstaking research and extensive interviews yield many new insights into the nuanced differences between America on Taiwan and that of three key allies in the region. This research should be required reading for anyone interested in the future of not just cross-Strait issues, but regional dynamics more broadly."" -Zack Cooper, American Enterprise Institute ""Instinctive theories of reputation and credibility are powerful, persistent, and resilient. They are also deadly: in the Vietnam War, millions died because many American leaders did not accurately understand the stakes of the conflict. History rhyming, in any future war over Taiwan, could truly be an apocalyptic scenario. In this bold and forensic book, Michael Hunzeker and Mark Christopher sweep away rusted-on platitudes about Taiwan as a litmus test of alliance loyalty by investigating how experts in Tokyo, Seoul and Canberra think differently from officials in Washington. Their findings should prompt an agonizing reappraisal of what would truly be at stake in any future conflict. There may be many good reasons for the US to defend Taiwan, but a desire to protect its reputation as a loyal ally is not one of them."" -Iain D. Henry, Australian National University ""America's Taiwan Dilemma illuminates what US allies are privately thinking about the future of American power if deterrence fails and Beijing wages war. Authors Hunzeker and Christopher challenge conventional wisdom and make a very useful contribution on an urgent subject."" -Matt Pottinger, former US Deputy National Security Advisor and Distinguished Visiting Fellow, Hoover Institution